Question: My almost 3 month old grandson is having head measurements that are 97th percentile. Length 25th percentile. He did the neurological sign when his fists were clenched, and rotated in. It only lasted about a minute. He was born at 35wks. He has had a cranial U/S and we were given a WNL report. What else should be a concern? JoAnn

Answer: Dear JoAnn,

97th percentile means that on a national average, 97% of babies at 3 months had approximately the same head measurements. 25 percentile means that 25% of the babies of that age measure his same length. When a baby is premature, the numbers are compared with those of babies born at the same number of weeks.

The developmental skills of a premature baby are usually a little bit delayed (smiling, sitting, walking, talking). Low weight babies may also have hearing and eyesight problems so regular eye and hearing tests are recommended.