the clinic frequently; they were all mothers of second babies. One moved to an area where, she reported, local health visitors did not provide baby clinic sessions. One had attended a lively clinic with an active social group in another part of the country with her first baby and found this clinic disappointing, and the third decided not to take her baby for frequent weighing before the birth as she had found this unhelpful with her first baby. These women provided useful comparisons with the women who attended clinic frequently.

In phase one, every visit to the clinic by a mother with a baby under six months of age was seen to involve weighing the baby. Several women were observed attending and having their baby weighed weekly for severalweight is OK, because I can\'t plot it\". Babies were weighed naked and the health visitor could observe them generally and also talk with the mother. However, the plotted growth curve appeared to be seen as the authoritative, definitive measure of infant well-being, by both mothers and professionals.

Following the centile line
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Most UK health authorities adopted the PCHR, which includes the growth chart, during the 1990s. Prior to this, a small card was used and weights in pounds and ounces were written on it. The possible effects of the change from a list of weights attained to a visual depiction of the baby\'s growth in the parent\'s record have not been previously remarked on. As one health visitor was prompted to reflect when asked about this change, \"The pictorial