Weight and length measurements are essential for determining
children’s nutritional status in the first year of
life [1]. Consequently, growth charts are important tools
to help health professionals determine whether a child’s
physiological needs are being met whether growth and
development are appropriate for age and gender [2].
Until 2006, the United States National Center for
Health Statistics’ (NCHS) 1977 growth curves were the
World Health Organization’s (WHO) reference for
childhood and adolescent growth [3]. In 2006, the WHO
released a new international standard that established
rules for assessing the growth of children from birth to 5
years of age. The growth curves for children from birth
to 6 months old were expanded to allow better tracking
of the trajectory of weight and to evaluate the performance
of lactation [1, 4–6].
A notable feature of the new WHO, 2006 growth
curves was that it considered exclusive breastfeeding
until the fourth month of life as the standard for determining
healthy growth. Although this standard is in line