Which growth chart should a premature baby use?

We wanted one reassuring percentile

We kept asking where Ari sat on the chart. A neat percentile felt as though it would tell us whether she was doing well.

With a premature baby, the answer changes if you use the wrong chart or the wrong age. The same baby can look tiny on one chart and completely expected on another.

The right chart and the right age

Babies born early may start on a premature growth chart and later move to a standard chart using corrected age. Your baby’s doctor or nurse can show you which chart they are using and why.

We stopped trying to replot Ari ourselves after realising how easy it was to frighten ourselves with the wrong comparison—including the apps Papa always likes to use.

Her own line mattered most

One weigh-in can move because of different scales, clothing, timing or a full nappy. The trend across several measurements tells a better story.

For us, the useful question was whether Ari was following her own curve and growing steadily. Feeding more does not automatically mean gaining more, especially for a premature baby, so volumes stayed with her NICU nurses and doctors—not our midnight maths.