Fenton 2025 Third generation Preterm Growth Charts
The Fenton Growth Charts are designed for growth monitoring of preterm infants with birth gestational age less than 37 weeks
New!!! Fenton 2025 Grow Chart Plotter New!!!
Plot your babies growth patterns using this simple-to-use tool. This tool also calculates z-scores and for individual babies: changes in z-scores. This tool can plot on the growth chart and calculate z-scores for individual babies or large groups. User documentation is provided by a link on the plotter webpage.
The Fenton growth chart for preterm infants has been revised to accommodate the World Health Organization Growth Standard and reflect actual age instead of completed weeks, in order to improve preterm infant growth monitoring.
BMC Pediatrics
Editor
The Fenton charts are endorsed by the French, Portuguese, Colombian and Turkish Pediatric Societies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Chinese Neonatal Network, the Ecuador Ministry of Public Health, the French Society of Neonatology, the Spanish Society of Gastroenterology and Paediatric Nutrition and the Merck Manual.
Growth chart and Birth size development papers
Fenton TR, Elmrayed S, Alshaikh BN. Fenton third-generation Growth Charts of preterm infants without abnormal fetal growth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.70035.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40534585/
A systematic review and meta-analysis to revise the Fenton growth chart for preterm infants. Fenton, Tanis R & Kim, Jae H. A systematic review and meta-analysis to revise the Fenton growth chart for preterm infants. BMC Pediatrics.2013, 13:59 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/13/59
Growth Chart Validation Study
Validating the weight gain of preterm infants between the reference growth curve of the fetus and the term infant. Fenton TR, Nasser R, Eliasziw M, Kim JH, Bilan D, Sauve R. BMC Pediatr. 2013;13(1):92. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/13/92
Assign gestational age size at birth
People use the Fenton preterm infant growth charts for 2 purposes: i) preterm infant growth monitoring and ii) to assign size-at-birth for gestational age (small, large and appropriate). The Fenton growth charts (designed for preterm infant growth monitoring for infants born <37 weeks) can be used to assign size-at-birth for gestational ages 22 to 36 weeks, but ideally not for gestational ages at 37 weeks or beyond. Due to numerous requests, we have produced the 2025 15-country meta-analysis specifically for size-at-birth assessments for infants born from 22-42 weeks. To assign size for gestational age at birth for 37 weeks or beyond, download our 2025 15-country-meta-analysis sex-specific percentile cutoffs and/or calculator below or you can access a birthsize calculator below or access our daily Birth size calculator via: Fentongrowth.ca.
The size-at-birth numerical values differ from the growth charts >36 weeks (as described in our development paper: https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.70035). Traditionally size-at-birth calculator and cutoffs used completed gestational weeks. Below are size-at-birth calculators and cutoffs using completed gestational weeks. If you wish to use age in actual age (gestational weeks and days), use our new daily Birth size calculator via: Fentongrowth.ca. At this webpage, you can assign size at birth and/or monitor preterm infant growth using the tools there.
The 2013 6-country meta-analysis size-at-birth calculators and cutoffs are also available. They are also not the same as the growth charts, so they are also not appropriate to use for growth monitoring.
Global Usage
The charts are being used in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the Netherlands, the UK, the UAE and the USA.