Understanding Growth Disorders

Understanding small for gestational age

Actor portrayal

Girl with her mom standing behind her

What does small for gestational age mean?

Small for gestational age (SGA) means a newborn is much smaller than expected. Specifically, babies born with a birth weight and length that are below the 2.3rd percentile may be considered SGA.

“Gestational age” is the age of a baby based on the point of conception. So, it includes the time that babies spend growing in the womb. Most babies are born between 37 and 41 weeks of gestation. A gestational age assessment compares a newborn’s weight and length against the average weight and length for other babies of the same gestational age.

Actor portrayal

Actor portrayal

Girl sitting on the floor looking at a laptop

Why are some children born SGA?

There isn’t always a clear reason behind SGA. Some factors that may be associated with SGA include genetic defects or problems with the placenta. It can also be caused by issues with the mother’s health, such as malnutrition, chronic high blood pressure, or chronic infections.

Baby's feet resting an adult's

Do babies born SGA “catch up”?

Most babies born small for gestational age will reach their expected height and size by the time they turn 2. Catch-up for babies who are born prematurely may take longer.

If catch-up growth isn’t seen by the age of 2 or 3, your child’s doctor may refer them to a pediatric endocrinologist.

How is SGA diagnosed?

SGA is defined by a child’s size, so doctors may take several measurements of the child’s body and map the results on a growth chart.

Doctors may also perform multiple tests to determine what is causing or contributing to the short stature of a child born SGA. These may include tests to see if a child has growth hormone deficiency or problems with their thyroid (a gland in the neck that produces hormones). Doctors may also do blood tests to look for celiac disease, kidney problems, and other conditions unrelated to hormones.

The results of these tests may help doctors determine what kind of treatment the child needs.

Growth charts

After the diagnosis

Children diagnosed with SGA may be prescribed growth hormone therapy. This involves taking regular doses of growth hormone to stimulate growth. Your child may have regular follow-up visits to monitor their growth and make sure that treatment is working well.

More resources for your journey

Advocacy and support for patients and families living with SGA and other growth-related disorders

Find a group

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Novo Nordisk is committed to helping more patients born SGA reach their growth potential

See the story

Gigi (left) born with SGA

Want to learn about another condition?

Childhood GHD

Explore

Idiopathic short stature

Explore

Small for gestational age

Explore

Turner syndrome

Explore

Noonan syndrome

Explore

Prader-Willi syndrome

Explore

Adult GHD

Explore
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Important Safety Information:

Do not use Norditropin® if:

  • you have a critical illness caused by certain types of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or breathing (respiratory) problems
  • you are a child with Prader-Willi syndrome who is severely obese or has breathing problems including sleep apnea
  • you have cancer or other tumors
  • you are allergic to somatropin or any of the ingredients in Norditropin®
  • your healthcare provider tells you that you have certain types of eye problems caused by diabetes (diabetic retinopathy)
  • you are a child with closed bone growth plates (epiphyses)

Before taking Norditropin®, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

  • have had heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory problems)
  • have had a history of problems breathing while you sleep (sleep apnea)
  • have or have had cancer or any tumor
  • have diabetes
  • are pregnant or breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant or breastfeed

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Norditropin® may affect how other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Norditropin® works.

How should I use Norditropin®?

  • Use Norditropin® exactly as your health care provider tells you to
  • Do not share your Norditropin® pens and needles with another person even if the needle has been changed. You may give another person an infection or get an infection from them.

What are the possible side effects of Norditropin®?

Norditropin® may cause serious side effects, including:

  • high risk of death in people who have critical illnesses because of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory) problems
  • high risk of sudden death in children with Prader-Willi syndrome who are severely obese or have breathing problems including sleep apnea
  • increased risk of growth of cancer or a tumor that is already present and increased risk of the return of cancer or a tumor in people who were treated with radiation to the brain or head as children and who developed low growth hormone problems. Contact the healthcare provider if you or your child start to have headaches, or have changes in behavior, changes in vision, or changes in moles, birthmarks, or the color of your skin
  • new or worsening high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or diabetes
  • increase in pressure in the skull (intracranial hypertension). If you or your child has headaches, eye problems, nausea or vomiting, contact the healthcare provider
  • serious allergic reactions. Get medical help right away if you or your child has the following symptoms: swelling of your face, lips, mouth or tongue, trouble breathing, wheezing, severe itching, skin rashes, redness or swelling, dizziness or fainting, fast heartbeat or pounding in your chest, or sweating
  • your body holding too much fluid (fluid retention) such as swelling in the hands and feet, pain in your joints or muscles or nerve problems that cause pain, burning, or tingling in the hands, arms, legs and feet. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any of these signs or symptoms of fluid retention.
  • decrease in a hormone called cortisol. Tell your or your child’s healthcare provider if you or your child has darkening of the skin, severe fatigue, dizziness, weakness or weight loss
  • decrease in thyroid hormone levels
  • hip and knee pain or a limp in children (slipped capital femoral epiphysis)
  • worsening of pre-existing curvature of the spine (scoliosis)
  • severe and constant abdominal pain can be a sign of pancreatitis. Tell your or your child’s healthcare provider if you or your child has any new abdominal pain.
  • loss of fat and tissue weakness in the area of skin you inject
  • increase in phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone levels in your blood

The most common side effects of Norditropin® include:

  • injection site reactions and rashes, and headaches

Please click here for Norditropin® Prescribing Information.

What is Norditropin® (somatropin) injection?

Norditropin® is a prescription medicine that contains human growth hormone and is used to treat:

  • children who are not growing because of low or no growth hormone
  • children who are short (in stature) and who have Noonan syndrome, Turner syndrome, or were born small (small for gestational age-SGA) and have not caught-up in growth by age 2 to 4 years
  • children who have Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS)
  • children who are not growing who have Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS)
  • adults who do not make enough growth hormone

What is Norditropin® (somatropin) injection?

Norditropin® is a prescription medicine that contains human growth hormone and is used to treat:

  • children who are not growing because of low or no growth hormone
  • children who are short (in stature) and who have Noonan syndrome, Turner syndrome, or were born small (small for gestational age-SGA) and have not caught-up in growth by age 2 to 4 years
  • children who have Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS)
  • children who are not growing who have Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS)
  • adults who do not make enough growth hormone

Show more Show less
Show more Show less

What is Norditropin® (somatropin) injection?

Norditropin® is a prescription medicine that contains human growth hormone and is used to treat:

  • children who are not growing because of low or no growth hormone
  • children who are short (in stature) and who have Noonan syndrome, Turner syndrome, or were born small (small for gestational age-SGA) and have not caught-up in growth by age 2 to 4 years
  • children who have Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS)
  • children who are not growing who have Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS)
  • adults who do not make enough growth hormone

What is Norditropin® (somatropin) injection?

Norditropin® is a prescription medicine that contains human growth hormone and is used to treat:

  • children who are not growing because of low or no growth hormone
  • children who are short (in stature) and who have Noonan syndrome, Turner syndrome, or were born small (small for gestational age-SGA) and have not caught-up in growth by age 2 to 4 years
  • children who have Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS)
  • children who are not growing who have Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS)
  • adults who do not make enough growth hormone

Important Safety Information:

Do not use Norditropin® if:

  • you have a critical illness caused by certain types of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or breathing (respiratory) problems
  • you are a child with Prader-Willi syndrome who is severely obese or has breathing problems including sleep apnea
  • you have cancer or other tumors
  • you are allergic to somatropin or any of the ingredients in Norditropin®
  • your healthcare provider tells you that you have certain types of eye problems caused by diabetes (diabetic retinopathy)
  • you are a child with closed bone growth plates (epiphyses)

Before taking Norditropin®, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

  • have had heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory problems)
  • have had a history of problems breathing while you sleep (sleep apnea)
  • have or have had cancer or any tumor
  • have diabetes
  • are pregnant or breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant or breastfeed

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Norditropin® may affect how other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Norditropin® works.

How should I use Norditropin®?

  • Use Norditropin® exactly as your health care provider tells you to
  • Do not share your Norditropin® pens and needles with another person even if the needle has been changed. You may give another person an infection or get an infection from them.

What are the possible side effects of Norditropin®?

Norditropin® may cause serious side effects, including:

  • high risk of death in people who have critical illnesses because of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory) problems
  • high risk of sudden death in children with Prader-Willi syndrome who are severely obese or have breathing problems including sleep apnea
  • increased risk of growth of cancer or a tumor that is already present and increased risk of the return of cancer or a tumor in people who were treated with radiation to the brain or head as children and who developed low growth hormone problems. Contact the healthcare provider if you or your child start to have headaches, or have changes in behavior, changes in vision, or changes in moles, birthmarks, or the color of your skin
  • new or worsening high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or diabetes
  • increase in pressure in the skull (intracranial hypertension). If you or your child has headaches, eye problems, nausea or vomiting, contact the healthcare provider
  • serious allergic reactions. Get medical help right away if you or your child has the following symptoms: swelling of your face, lips, mouth or tongue, trouble breathing, wheezing, severe itching, skin rashes, redness or swelling, dizziness or fainting, fast heartbeat or pounding in your chest, or sweating
  • your body holding too much fluid (fluid retention) such as swelling in the hands and feet, pain in your joints or muscles or nerve problems that cause pain, burning, or tingling in the hands, arms, legs and feet. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any of these signs or symptoms of fluid retention.
  • decrease in a hormone called cortisol. Tell your or your child’s healthcare provider if you or your child has darkening of the skin, severe fatigue, dizziness, weakness or weight loss
  • decrease in thyroid hormone levels
  • hip and knee pain or a limp in children (slipped capital femoral epiphysis)
  • worsening of pre-existing curvature of the spine (scoliosis)
  • severe and constant abdominal pain can be a sign of pancreatitis. Tell your or your child’s healthcare provider if you or your child has any new abdominal pain.
  • loss of fat and tissue weakness in the area of skin you inject
  • increase in phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone levels in your blood

The most common side effects of Norditropin® include:

  • injection site reactions and rashes, and headaches

Please click here for Norditropin® Prescribing Information.

Important Safety Information:

Do not use Norditropin® if:

  • you have a critical illness caused by certain types of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or breathing (respiratory) problems
  • you are a child with Prader-Willi syndrome who is severely obese or has breathing problems including sleep apnea
  • you have cancer or other tumors
  • you are allergic to somatropin or any of the ingredients in Norditropin®
  • your healthcare provider tells you that you have certain types of eye problems caused by diabetes (diabetic retinopathy)
  • you are a child with closed bone growth plates (epiphyses)

Before taking Norditropin®, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

  • have had heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory problems)
  • have had a history of problems breathing while you sleep (sleep apnea)
  • have or have had cancer or any tumor
  • have diabetes
  • are pregnant or breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant or breastfeed

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Norditropin® may affect how other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Norditropin® works.

How should I use Norditropin®?

  • Use Norditropin® exactly as your health care provider tells you to
  • Do not share your Norditropin® pens and needles with another person even if the needle has been changed. You may give another person an infection or get an infection from them.

What are the possible side effects of Norditropin®?

Norditropin® may cause serious side effects, including:

  • high risk of death in people who have critical illnesses because of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory) problems
  • high risk of sudden death in children with Prader-Willi syndrome who are severely obese or have breathing problems including sleep apnea
  • increased risk of growth of cancer or a tumor that is already present and increased risk of the return of cancer or a tumor in people who were treated with radiation to the brain or head as children and who developed low growth hormone problems. Contact the healthcare provider if you or your child start to have headaches, or have changes in behavior, changes in vision, or changes in moles, birthmarks, or the color of your skin
  • new or worsening high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or diabetes
  • increase in pressure in the skull (intracranial hypertension). If you or your child has headaches, eye problems, nausea or vomiting, contact the healthcare provider
  • serious allergic reactions. Get medical help right away if you or your child has the following symptoms: swelling of your face, lips, mouth or tongue, trouble breathing, wheezing, severe itching, skin rashes, redness or swelling, dizziness or fainting, fast heartbeat or pounding in your chest, or sweating
  • your body holding too much fluid (fluid retention) such as swelling in the hands and feet, pain in your joints or muscles or nerve problems that cause pain, burning, or tingling in the hands, arms, legs and feet. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any of these signs or symptoms of fluid retention.
  • decrease in a hormone called cortisol. Tell your or your child’s healthcare provider if you or your child has darkening of the skin, severe fatigue, dizziness, weakness or weight loss
  • decrease in thyroid hormone levels
  • hip and knee pain or a limp in children (slipped capital femoral epiphysis)
  • worsening of pre-existing curvature of the spine (scoliosis)
  • severe and constant abdominal pain can be a sign of pancreatitis. Tell your or your child’s healthcare provider if you or your child has any new abdominal pain.
  • loss of fat and tissue weakness in the area of skin you inject
  • increase in phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone levels in your blood

The most common side effects of Norditropin® include:

  • injection site reactions and rashes, and headaches

Please click here for Norditropin® Prescribing Information.

Important Safety Information:

Do not use Norditropin® if:

  • you have a critical illness caused by certain types of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or breathing (respiratory) problems
  • you are a child with Prader-Willi syndrome who is severely obese or has breathing problems including sleep apnea
  • you have cancer or other tumors
  • you are allergic to somatropin or any of the ingredients in Norditropin®
  • your healthcare provider tells you that you have certain types of eye problems caused by diabetes (diabetic retinopathy)
  • you are a child with closed bone growth plates (epiphyses)

Before taking Norditropin®, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

  • have had heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory problems)
  • have had a history of problems breathing while you sleep (sleep apnea)
  • have or have had cancer or any tumor
  • have diabetes
  • are pregnant or breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant or breastfeed

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Norditropin® may affect how other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Norditropin® works.

How should I use Norditropin®?

  • Use Norditropin® exactly as your health care provider tells you to
  • Do not share your Norditropin® pens and needles with another person even if the needle has been changed. You may give another person an infection or get an infection from them.

What are the possible side effects of Norditropin®?

Norditropin® may cause serious side effects, including:

  • high risk of death in people who have critical illnesses because of heart or stomach surgery, trauma or serious breathing (respiratory) problems
  • high risk of sudden death in children with Prader-Willi syndrome who are severely obese or have breathing problems including sleep apnea
  • increased risk of growth of cancer or a tumor that is already present and increased risk of the return of cancer or a tumor in people who were treated with radiation to the brain or head as children and who developed low growth hormone problems. Contact the healthcare provider if you or your child start to have headaches, or have changes in behavior, changes in vision, or changes in moles, birthmarks, or the color of your skin
  • new or worsening high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or diabetes
  • increase in pressure in the skull (intracranial hypertension). If you or your child has headaches, eye problems, nausea or vomiting, contact the healthcare provider
  • serious allergic reactions. Get medical help right away if you or your child has the following symptoms: swelling of your face, lips, mouth or tongue, trouble breathing, wheezing, severe itching, skin rashes, redness or swelling, dizziness or fainting, fast heartbeat or pounding in your chest, or sweating
  • your body holding too much fluid (fluid retention) such as swelling in the hands and feet, pain in your joints or muscles or nerve problems that cause pain, burning, or tingling in the hands, arms, legs and feet. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any of these signs or symptoms of fluid retention.
  • decrease in a hormone called cortisol. Tell your or your child’s healthcare provider if you or your child has darkening of the skin, severe fatigue, dizziness, weakness or weight loss
  • decrease in thyroid hormone levels
  • hip and knee pain or a limp in children (slipped capital femoral epiphysis)
  • worsening of pre-existing curvature of the spine (scoliosis)
  • severe and constant abdominal pain can be a sign of pancreatitis. Tell your or your child’s healthcare provider if you or your child has any new abdominal pain.
  • loss of fat and tissue weakness in the area of skin you inject
  • increase in phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone levels in your blood

The most common side effects of Norditropin® include:

  • injection site reactions and rashes, and headaches

Please click here for Norditropin® Prescribing Information.

What is Norditropin® (somatropin) injection?

Norditropin® is a prescription medicine that contains human growth hormone and is used to treat:

  • children who are not growing because of low or no growth hormone
  • children who are short (in stature) and who have Noonan syndrome, Turner syndrome, or were born small (small for gestational age-SGA) and have not caught-up in growth by age 2 to 4 years
  • children who have Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS)
  • children who are not growing who have Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS)
  • adults who do not make enough growth hormone

What is Norditropin® (somatropin) injection?

Norditropin® is a prescription medicine that contains human growth hormone and is used to treat:

  • children who are not growing because of low or no growth hormone
  • children who are short (in stature) and who have Noonan syndrome, Turner syndrome, or were born small (small for gestational age-SGA) and have not caught-up in growth by age 2 to 4 years
  • children who have Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS)
  • children who are not growing who have Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS)
  • adults who do not make enough growth hormone

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