Head Circumference Percentile Calculator
Checks whether the child is developing correctly for their age and head measurement based on WHO growth charts.
Refer to the text below the tool for more information about the use of growth charts with percentiles in the evaluation of child growth.
Data collected in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study has been standardized to provide growth charts for boys and girls, from birth to 5 years of age, for normal head circumference.
The child’s measurement and age are plotted on the growth chart or retrieved in the percentile table, and may be interpreted as follows:
| Head circumference status | Growth chart percentile |
| Microcephaly | below 2nd percentile |
| Normal head circumference | between 2nd and 98th percentile |
| Macrocephaly | above the 98th percentile |
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Steps on how to print your input & results:
1. Fill in the calculator/tool with your values and/or your answer choices and press Calculate.
2. Then you can click on the Print button to open a PDF in a separate window with the inputs and results. You can further save the PDF or print it.
Please note that once you have closed the PDF you need to click on the Calculate button before you try opening it again, otherwise the input and/or results may not appear in the pdf.
Head Circumference Growth Charts
Data collected in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study has been standardized to provide growth charts for boys and girls, from birth to 5 years of age, for normal head circumference.
The child’s measurement and age are plotted on the growth chart or retrieved in the percentile table, and may be interpreted as follows:
| Head circumference status | Growth chart percentile |
| Microcephaly | below 2nd percentile |
| Normal head circumference | between 2nd and 98th percentile |
| Macrocephaly | above the 98th percentile |
Pediatricians and other health professionals may use head circumference measurements to determine whether the baby’s brain is growing and developing normally. This measurement is routinely performed in babies under the age of 2. Where a larger measurement is found, a CT scan may be ordered to check for hydrocephalus.
To measure the head circumference, a flexible tape measure is extended from the middle of the forehead to the farthest part in the rear of the head.
In the case of normal development, two subsequent measurements at different ages should usually follow the same percentile.
References
Specialty: Pediatrics
Article By: Denise Nedea
Published On: October 6, 2020 · 12:00 AM
Last Checked: October 6, 2020
Next Review: October 6, 2025