Neonatal growth patterns in a population of consecutively born Down syndrome children.

Percentile charts of neonatal length, weight, head circumference, and weight/length squared have been constructed using data based on 688 consecutive newborn infants with Down Syndrome and 6,890 normal new born infants (control group) registered in the congenital malformation registers of North-East Italy and the Emilia-Romagna Region. All percentiles of growth variables are lower in Down syndrome than in the control infants, except for the weight/length2 percentiles, suggesting that growth in Down syndrome is prenatally reduced; overweight begins after birth.