The infant's weight becomes triple from birth weight in?

Appeared in: HPSSC Staff Nurse - 2021

Explanation

According to standard pediatric growth patterns, an infant's birth weight is expected to triple by the end of the first year (12 months).
This rapid growth is a critical indicator of the infant's health and nutritional status.
For an average infant born weighing 3 kg, the expected weight at one year would be approximately 9 kg.
This milestone is a key component of developmental screening in primary healthcare settings.

Option A: At 6 months, an infant's birth weight is expected to have doubled, not tripled.
Option C: By 3 years of age, a child's weight is approximately five times their birth weight. The rate of weight gain slows significantly after infancy, making this option incorrect for tripling.
Option D: This option is incorrect because a correct answer ('1 year') is provided in the options.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Infant growth milestones, specifically weight gain as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Regular monitoring of an infant's weight against standard growth charts is a fundamental nursing responsibility to assess nutritional adequacy and detect potential health issues early.
Failure to achieve these weight milestones can be an early sign of 'Failure to Thrive' (FTT), requiring further investigation into feeding practices, underlying illness, or psychosocial factors.
What if? If an infant has only doubled their birth weight by 1 year, it is a significant deviation from the norm. The nurse should conduct a thorough nutritional assessment, review feeding history, and refer the infant for a pediatric evaluation to rule out underlying medical conditions or malabsorption issues.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key concept in the question, which is the tripling of an infant's birth weight.
This is a direct recall question based on standard pediatric growth milestones.
Recall the general rules for infant weight gain: weight doubles by 5-6 months, triples by 1 year, and quadruples by 2 years.
Compare this rule to the given options.
Option '6 months' corresponds to the doubling of weight.
Option '1 year' correctly corresponds to the tripling of weight.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Infant growth milestones, specifically weight gain.
Stem keywords: infant's weight, triple, birth weight
Lead-in keywords: in?
Clinical cues: Age/sex group narrows the expected diagnosis, intervention, or normal reference range.

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E6 Ghai Essential Pediatrics(pp 26-904 of 913) p. 10-12

E6 Anatomy Grays 43e Vol 1 Part 3 p. 15-17

E6 Nutrition Kumud Khanna 2e p. 109-111

Practise the full HPSSC Staff Nurse - 2021

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.