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Suite 3.3, Level 3, 48 Flemington Rd
Parkville, VIC 3052
Clinic at the Royal Children's Hospital

Growth concerns

The terms ‘slow weight gain’, ‘poor growth’ and ‘faltering growth/failure to thrive’ are used interchangeably to describe deviations from expected growth patterns in children. It should be noted expected weight gain is not the same as minimal acceptable growth; a paediatrician can help you understand if your child’s pattern of growth is normal or requires further investigation.

The list of potential causes for poor growth is long and a general paediatrician plays a vital role in differentiating between them. Inadequate intake due to a variety of causes is the commonest reason for slow weight gain. In these cases referral to an expert in child feeding can be very helpful in resolving the problem.

If inadequate intake is not the cause of poor growth then other conditions will need to be considered, including: allergy; coeliac disease; heart and lung conditions and more rarely endocrine and metabolic problems.​

Concern about linear growth, or height, is also a common reason for presentation to a paediatrician. How fast a child gains height depends on heredity, gender and environmental factors, such as nutrition. Serial measurement of height over a period of time is required to determine if there is a problem in linear growth in children.

The following practitioners at CPMG can be of service in helping assess growth concerns in infants, children and adolescents:

Daryl is a paediatrician who has worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital for 30 years and currently holds appointments as a general paediatrician in the department of General Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital, associate professor in the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics, and senior research fellow in the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

Daryl is active in research into better ways to treat children with developmental disorders such as autism, ADHD and Tourette syndrome.

Noel is an experienced general paediatrician and clinical pharmacologist. He has a unique background, having worked in general practice for several years before completing his paediatric training. He currently has appointments as a general paediatrician and director of clinical pharmacology in the Department of General Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital and as director of the Australian Paediatric Pharmacology Research Unit at Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

Alice is a general paediatrician who cares for children with a wide range of medical, behavioral and developmental problems, from birth to adolescence. She enjoys helping children and their families to reach their full potential, and takes a patient-centered, compassionate approach to care.

Carolyn is a general paediatrician who manages a wide range of acute, chronic and developmental paediatric problems. She graduated from the University of Cape Town, South Africa and trained as a general paediatrician in South Africa and the United Kingdom, before moving to Australia. She works as a general paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital and is also employed by the University of Melbourne, as co-ordinator of medical student education.

Fiona is a General Paediatrician who completed her medical education and Paediatric specialist training in the UK.  Prior to moving to Australia she worked for several years as a Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

She has worked within the General Medicine department at the Royal Children’s Hospital since 2014.

Julian is an experienced paediatrician who currently holds appointments as a general paediatrician in the department of General Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital and as a research fellow in the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics.

His areas of interest include acute general paediatrics, learning and behavioural disorders and lymphoedema.

Julian also has experience in international child health, working as a WHO consultant in the People’s Republic of China and the Solomon Islands.

Michaela trained as a Paediatrician at the Royal Children’s and The Mercy Hospitals in Melbourne.

During her training Michaela specialised in developmental and behavioural paediatrics, but since then she has continued to work both acute and outpatient settings, seeing children of all ages, including babies.

Michaela’s areas of interests include developmental delay, speech delay, failure to thrive and growth concerns, Autism, ADHD, constipation, encopresis and enuresis, behavioural problems, anxiety, eczema, asthma and urinary tract infections.

Shidan is a general paediatrician with a consultant appointment at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Suzanne is a general paediatrician who cares for children with a wide range of acute and chronic medical conditions from birth to adolescence. In addition to working in private practice, she has appointments at The Royal Children's Hospital as a General Paediatrician as well as a Medical Consultant in Hospital in the Home.

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