Pediatrics & Neonatal Care

Syllabus Unit: Clinical Medicine & Surgery

Why it matters

Chapter overview

Paediatrics is tested against fixed age-based norms — a growth curve, a milestone table, a resuscitation algorithm and an immunisation calendar — so AIIMS PG questions in this unit are frequently exact factual recall of ages, thresholds and doses rather than open-ended clinical reasoning, making precision the single biggest differentiator.

Postgraduate Medical Exam Syllabus Clinical Medicine & Surgery 50% weightage

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Step 16-8 weeksSocial smile appears

Step 26 monthsSits with support; monosyllabic babble

Step 39 monthsCrawls, stands with support, stranger anxiety

Step 412-15 monthsWalks independently, says 1-2 words

1Growth & Development Milestones

Normal growth (weight, height, head circumference) and the four domains of development are tracked against fixed age norms to catch delay early.

Learning Objectives

State expected weight-gain norms in infancy (birth weight doubles by 5 months, triples by 1 year).
Sequence gross motor milestones from head control (3 months) to independent walking (12-15 months).
Recall the age of the social smile, stranger anxiety and first meaningful words as language/social milestones.
Identify red-flag findings that warrant developmental delay referral (e.g. no social smile by 3 months, no words by 18 months).

Key Terms

Denver Developmental Screening TestA standardised tool assessing four domains — personal-social, fine motor-adaptive, language, gross motor — against fixed age norms to flag developmental delay.

Social SmileThe first clear social response, appearing by 6-8 weeks of age; its delay is an early red flag for autism spectrum disorder or visual impairment.

Head CircumferenceTracked on WHO growth charts; roughly 34cm at birth, growing fastest in the first year (+12cm), reflecting brain growth; micro/macrocephaly are screened for at every visit.

Stranger AnxietyA normal developmental milestone appearing around 6-9 months, reflecting the emergence of object permanence and attachment to the primary caregiver.

Paediatric growth and development are judged against fixed, testable age norms across two separate axes — physical growth (weight, height, head circumference) and developmental milestones across four domains — and the exam favours exact ages over general descriptions.

Physical growth norms

Birth weight doubles by 5 months, triples by 1 year, quadruples by 2 years.
Length increases by roughly 50% by 1 year of age.
Head circumference grows by about 12cm in the first year, reflecting rapid brain growth.

Gross motor milestones

3 months — neck holding.
6 months — sits with support; 8 months — sits without support.
9 months — crawls, stands with support.
12-15 months — walks independently; 18 months — runs.

Language & social milestones

6-8 weeks — social smile.
6 months — monosyllabic babble (non-specific 'mama/baba').
9 months — specific 'mama/dada'; stranger anxiety appears.
12 months — 1-2 meaningful words; 24 months — two-word phrases.

Common MistakeRed flags warranting referral: no social smile by 3 months, no sitting by 9 months, no words by 18 months, no independent walking by 18 months — and loss of any previously acquired skill at any age (regression) is always abnormal.