Baby Growth Chart
The WHO growth charts for babies from birth to 24 months, for weight and for length, boys and girls. Every line is drawn from the official WHO Child Growth Standards rather than reproduced from a picture, so the curves here and the numbers in our calculator are the same data.
Weight-for-age, 0 to 24 months
Length-for-age, 0 to 24 months
Head circumference-for-age, 0 to 24 months
How to read the lines
Each curve is a percentile. The 50th, drawn in pink, is the median: half of healthy children of that age and sex measure less and half measure more. The dashed lines above and below it mark the 85th, 97th, 15th and 3rd, and the band between the 3rd and the 97th is what clinicians generally treat as the typical range.
The useful thing about a chart, as opposed to a single number, is that it shows the shape of growth. The weight curves climb steeply through the first months and then flatten, which is why a baby who gained a kilo a month at three months and much less at eighteen has not slowed down in any worrying sense. They are following the curve everyone follows.
What a paediatrician watches is whether your child keeps to their own line rather than which line it is. Crossing several percentile bands in a short stretch, in either direction, is the thing worth raising at a checkup. A child who has sat on the 10th since birth and stays there is doing fine.
To place a specific measurement on these curves, our baby percentile calculator takes an age, a weight or a length and returns the percentile along with the WHO median for that age.
Frequently asked questions
What is a baby growth chart?
A set of curves showing how weight or length is distributed across healthy children of the same age and sex. Each line is a percentile: the 50th is the median, and the 3rd and 97th mark the band most clinicians treat as the typical range. A chart describes where a child falls; it does not set a target.
Which growth chart is used for babies?
For children under two, the WHO Child Growth Standards are the reference recommended in most countries, including by the CDC in the United States. They describe how healthy, breastfed children grow in good conditions. Some countries switch to a different reference after age two.
What does the 50th percentile mean?
That half of children of that age and sex measure less and half measure more. It is the middle of the range, not the goal. A child on the 15th or the 85th is doing exactly as well as a child on the 50th, provided they keep following their own line.
What percentile is too low or too high?
A single reading rarely answers that. Roughly the 3rd to the 97th percentile is the band usually treated as typical, but what a paediatrician actually watches is the trend across visits. A baby who has been on the 10th since birth and stays there is following their curve; one who crosses several lines in a short time is worth asking about.
Are boys' and girls' charts different?
Yes, and using the wrong one shifts the answer. Boys and girls have separate WHO tables at every age, which is why this page prints four charts rather than two.
Can I plot my own baby's measurements?
The charts here show the reference curves. To place a specific weight or length on them, our percentile calculator takes the number and the age and returns the percentile plus the WHO median for that age.
Your baby's own curve, not just the reference
Growbaby's growth journal keeps every measurement in one place and plots your child's own line against these curves over time, alongside milestones, sleep and feeding.
This tool is for general informational purposes only. It is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. For any question about your or your baby's health, always consult a qualified healthcare provider.