Ten years after the publication of the INTERGROWTH-21st newborn size at birth and preterm postnatal growth charts, standards now have been integrated into an app to allow healthcare professionals to easily plot and assess newborn and preterm babies.

Designed to allow healthcare providers to easily access and use the newborn size at birth and the postnatal preterm growth standards, the INTERGROWTH-21st app has been released this month, a project the Oxford Maternal and Perinatal Health Institute developed in collaboration with tech developer Olamalu.

 The newborn size at birth assessment and the preterm postnatal growth standards are the first international standards for preterm-born babies and preterm growth follow-up, tackling appropriate and accurate care for the approximately 15 million babies born preterm annually worldwide.

The standards, first launched in 2014, depict the desirable pattern of healthy growth for all babies everywhere, regardless of their ethnicity or country of birth. They provide 3rd, 10th, 50th, 90th and 97th centile curves for a baby's size at birth according to gestational age (from 24 weeks) and for preterm growth until 64 weeks of postmenstrual age, when the charts merge with the WHO Child Growth standards for born at term babies.
 

Key features of the INTERGROWTH-21st app include:

• Patient tracking: The app allows for babies to be added and saved for future measurements.
• Integrated assessments for all gestational ages: Integrating all data from the INTERGROWTH-21st project, the app allows all babies from the very preterm born at 24 weeks until term babies to be assessed and followed until 64 weeks postmenstrual age.
• Comprehensive tracking: Healthcare professionals can monitor preterm growth over an extended period, enabling early detection of growth abnormalities and informed clinical decision-making.
• Consolidate with patients’ records: plots can be downloaded, saved, and printed to be integrated with patients’ charts.

The INTERGROWTH-21st app is now available for download on phones, tablets, and computers and on iOS and android devices. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to explore its features and provide feedback to further enhance its functionality and usability.