Baby Growth Problems: What Should Parents Do? The typical newborn growth rate is about 1 1/2 pounds and 1 to 1 1/2 inches a month. Every baby grows at a slightly different pace, but babies who lag ...

Clinics use growth charts to map a baby's growth up to 5 years. In South Africa, you would've received the Road to Health booklet or card with your baby's birth weight and length plotted on the graph.

The current standards for infant growth were published back in 1977 and based on a limited survey of babies born in Yellow Springs, Ohio, between the 1920s and mid-1970s.