A healthy baby typically gains 150 to 200 grams a week for the first three months, then slows to 100 to 150 grams a week from three to six months, per WHO Child Growth Standards. Most babies double their birth weight by five months and triple it by twelve months. This guide breaks down the WHO weight chart by age, sex and percentile.
Types of Baby Growth Charts
Pediatricians track four separate numbers to judge how a baby is growing: weight-for-age, length-for-age, weight-for-length, and head circumference. Each chart answers a different question, and reading only one gives an incomplete picture of growth.
Weight-for-Age Chart
The weight-for-age chart is the one most parents mean when they say "growth chart." It plots a baby's weight against age on a curve, with separate charts for boys and girls because boys are, on average, heavier at every age from birth. The World Health Organization released its Child Growth Standards in 2006, built from data on breastfed infants raised in six countries under conditions that support optimal growth. The Indian Academy of Pediatrics recommends these WHO standards for all Indian children under five. To use the chart accurately at home, a baby needs to be weighed undressed on a reliable baby weighing scale, at roughly the same time of day, since feeds and nappies can shift the reading by 100 to 200 grams.
Length-for-Age Chart
Length-for-age tracks how tall a baby is growing, measured lying flat until around 24 months. A baby who gains length steadily but sits on a lower weight percentile is not automatically a concern — build varies as much in infants as it does in adults. Length is measured with an infantometer or height measuring board, not a standing height scale, because a baby under two cannot stand still for an accurate reading.
Weight-for-Length Chart
This chart compares a baby's weight to their own length rather than to their age, which makes it useful for spotting a baby who is unusually light or heavy for how tall they already are. It is the chart most often used to flag acute malnutrition or rapid excess weight gain, since it removes age as a variable entirely.
Head Circumference Chart
Head circumference is measured monthly in the first year because it tracks brain growth, which is fastest in early infancy. A head that grows too slowly or too fast between visits is checked separately from weight and length, since the three curves do not always move together.
What to Look For When Weighing Your Baby at Home
A growth chart is only as accurate as the scale that produced the number plotted on it. These four factors decide whether a home reading can be trusted against the WHO chart.
Accuracy and Readability
A baby scale needs to read in increments of 10 grams or finer to catch a genuine week-on-week trend, since the difference between a healthy and a slow-gaining week can be under 100 grams. A large, backlit LCD display matters more for baby scales than most categories, because parents are usually reading it one-handed while holding a moving infant.
Capacity
Most dedicated baby scales are rated to 20 kg, which covers weighing from birth through roughly age three, well past the point most families switch to a standard personal scale. A tare function is essential so a blanket or cloth under the baby does not skew the reading.
Platform, Material and Build
A baby scale platform should be a smooth, curved tray rather than a flat deck, since it keeps a wriggling infant centred and reduces the chance of rolling off during the weighing. Rounded edges and a wipeable surface matter for a product handled daily around feeds and nappy changes.
Power and Battery
Battery-powered baby scales are more practical than mains-only models for home use, since weighing happens at unpredictable times and the scale needs to switch on instantly. An auto-off function after roughly 60 seconds of inactivity preserves battery life across the months of tracking a growth chart demands.
Baby Weight Chart — Quick Reference
| Age | Median Weight — Boys | Median Weight — Girls | Normal Range (3rd–97th Percentile) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 3.3 kg | 3.2 kg | 2.5–4.3 kg |
| 3 Months | 6.4 kg | 5.8 kg | 4.6–7.7 kg |
| 6 Months | 7.9 kg | 7.3 kg | 5.9–9.7 kg |
| 9 Months | 9.5 kg | 8.7 kg | 7.0–11.6 kg |
| 12 Months | 9.6 kg | 8.9 kg | 7.0–12.0 kg |
Figures are rounded 50th-percentile values from WHO Child Growth Standards (2006). Anything between the 3rd and 97th line is considered medically normal — the trend across visits matters more than any single number.
How to Choose the Right Baby Weight Chart
- Use the WHO 2006 chart, not an outdated hospital chart — older CDC-based charts were built from formula-fed American infants and read differently for breastfed babies in the first six months.
- Match the chart to your baby's sex — boys and girls have separate WHO curves because boys average roughly 300 to 500 grams heavier at the same age throughout the first year.
- Weigh at the same time of day, undressed — a nappy, feed, or clothing can shift a single reading by 100 to 200 grams and create a false dip or spike on the chart.
- Track the trend, not a single point — a baby who sits steadily on the 15th percentile from birth is growing normally; a baby who drops two percentile lines between visits is the pattern worth discussing with a pediatrician.
- Log the number every time you weigh — a chart with three data points across a year tells you far less than one updated monthly, especially in the fast-changing first six months.
Why Buy From a Certified Indian Manufacturer
Omace Brands Private Limited has manufactured weighing scales in India since 1994 — over 30 years. The company's baby and infantometer range is manufactured to CE and ISO 9001 standards, with ISO 13485 and US FDA registration on applicable medical-category products. All manufacturing takes place at the company's own facility in Bagru, Jaipur — these are not rebranded imports. Omace delivers PAN India with tracking, and most baby scale models carry a 12 to 24 month manufacturer warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much weight should a baby gain in a month?
A newborn typically gains 600 to 900 grams a month for the first three months. This slows to roughly 400 to 600 grams a month between three and six months, and 300 to 450 grams a month for the rest of the first year, following the natural deceleration built into the WHO growth curve.
What is a normal birth weight for a baby in India?
A birth weight of 2.5 kg or above is considered normal by WHO. India's National Family Health Survey-5 recorded 18.2 percent of babies born with low birth weight, defined as under 2,500 grams regardless of how many weeks the pregnancy lasted.
What does it mean if my baby is below the 3rd percentile?
Falling below the 3rd percentile means a baby weighs less than 97 percent of babies the same age and sex on the WHO chart. It is not an automatic diagnosis of a problem — a baby who has tracked consistently along that line since birth is often simply small-framed, while one who recently dropped from a higher line warrants a pediatrician visit.
Is the WHO growth chart the same as the CDC chart?
No, the two charts are built from different populations. WHO charts are based on breastfed infants across six countries and are recommended by the Indian Academy of Pediatrics; CDC charts were built largely from formula-fed American infants and tend to show slower early gain as the "average," which can wrongly flag a healthy breastfed baby as underweight in the first six months.
How often should I weigh my baby at home?
Once a week is enough to spot a genuine trend without over-reading normal day-to-day fluctuation. Daily weighing usually causes more anxiety than insight, since a baby's weight can vary by 100 to 200 grams between a fed and unfed reading.
Do breastfed and formula-fed babies gain weight at the same rate?
No, breastfed babies typically gain weight faster in the first two to three months and slightly slower from six to twelve months compared with formula-fed babies. The WHO chart was deliberately built on breastfed infants so it does not penalise normal breastfed growth the way older formula-based charts did.
What is considered low birth weight?
WHO defines low birth weight as any live birth under 2,500 grams, regardless of gestational age. Babies under 1,500 grams are classified as very low birth weight, a distinction NFHS-5 data shows applies to roughly 6 percent of India's low-birth-weight babies.
Track Every Milestone With an Accurate Baby Scale
A growth chart is only as useful as the numbers going into it, and a baby scale accurate to 10 grams makes the difference between a real trend and reading noise. Omace's digital baby and mother scale range and infantometer boards are built for exactly this kind of weekly, at-home tracking. For a broader look at how baby scales compare with other categories in the home, see our guide to different types of weighing scales.
