why your child having delayed growth?

Growth failure is a term used when the growth rate is below the appropriate growth speed for age. Whereas growth delay may refer to a term when a child is short but appears to be able to grow longer than children usually do, and thus, may not be short as an adult.

The cause of growth delay may happen due to an underlying health condition. If you suspect your child is not growing at a normal pace, make an appointment with their doctor. It may be a sign of other underlying problems.

Reasons of delay growth

·         Malnutrition: It is the most common cause of growth failure in children and is usually associated with poverty. This can result from when a child is not interested in eating due to a variety of reasons, or due to lack of understanding by the parents regarding the needs of calorie.

·          Familial short stature: Children with this condition have parents with short stature. They have a normal growth rate, and bone age is not delayed. They enter puberty at a normal time and often have growth with a short adult height.

·         Constitutional growth delay: It is also called as delayed puberty, children who have constitutional growth delay have a normal birth weight, and their growth usually reduces during the first year of life. These children show an adequate growth velocity from about age 3 to puberty. Bone age is mostly delayed, and puberty is late. Generally, children with constitutional growth delay do not show growth failure but a period of slow growth velocity happens during the first year of life and just before they attain puberty.

·         Diseases and disorders: Chronic diseases and systemic disorders such as circulatory, nervous, or gastrointestinal systems may be a cause of growth failure. Disease associated with lungs, liver, kidneys, or connective tissue may also be a reason.

·         Psychosocial dwarfism: This is a disorder of growth failure or short stature, and delayed puberty. This condition occurs in association with child abuse or emotional deprivation and neglect.

·         Syndromes: growth failure or delay growth can occur due to genetic syndromes including Down syndrome and Turner syndrome. It can also relate to other syndromes, such as Noonan syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and Russell-Silver syndrome.

·         Endocrine (hormonal): Endocrine causes such as thyroid hormone deficiency, growth hormone deficiency, or other hormone disorders.