Weight of a baby at 12 months should be?

Appeared in: IGNOU Post B. SC. Nursing entrance-2019

Explanation

A healthy infant's birth weight is expected to triple by the end of the first year (12 months).
This is a standard and critical developmental milestone used to assess an infant's growth and nutritional status.
For an average Indian newborn weighing around 3 kg, the expected weight at one year would be approximately 9 kg.
This rapid growth phase highlights the importance of adequate nutrition during the first year of life.

Option A: Doubling of birth weight is a milestone achieved much earlier than 12 months.
Option C: Quadrupling of birth weight occurs much later than 12 months.
Option D: Reaching five times the birth weight at 12 months would be excessive and is not the expected milestone.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Infant growth and development milestones, specifically weight gain as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses use these weight milestones as a crucial part of growth monitoring during well-baby visits to screen for nutritional deficiencies or other health issues.
Failure to triple birth weight by one year can be a sign of 'Failure to Thrive' (FTT), prompting nurses to conduct a detailed nutritional assessment, review feeding practices with parents, and rule out underlying illnesses.
What if? If a 12-month-old has only doubled their birth weight, the nurse's priority action is to assess dietary intake (calories, protein), feeding difficulties, and signs of chronic illness or malabsorption, rather than simply reassuring the parents.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key parameters in the question: 'weight' and '12 months'.
This is a factual recall question about standard pediatric growth milestones.
Recall the 'rule of thumb' for infant weight gain: weight doubles by 5-6 months, triples by 1 year, and quadruples by 2 years.
Compare this rule to the options provided. 'Triple the birth weight' directly matches the milestone for 12 months.
Eliminate the other options as they correspond to different ages (doubling at ~6 months, quadrupling at 2 years).

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Infant growth and development milestones, specifically weight gain.
Stem keywords: Weight, baby, 12 months
Lead-in keywords: should be

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

E6 Physiology Ganong 27e Vol 2 Part 2 p. 25-27

E6 Nutrition Kumud Khanna 2e p. 109-111

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