MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 16 October 1914, Page 3

MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

By HYGEIA

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Healtn of Women and Children.

DUMMY OR COMFORTER

There is no subject on which more (protests reach me from branches of j the Society, mothers and Plunket { nurses, than the continued use of the dummy, m spite of its injurious effects [upon _ie c-iiici. Of course, one *eas ; less of _ the dummy than formerly, but it is not disappearing anything .like as rapidly as another allied abomination—namely, the "long-tube feeder," though it is hard to _ay | which is the mure injurious. The Society n a n been a_„cd to prepare an iuu_-uua !=._.._ Vilo ■uamuge aone oj tne uaunflj lo uxouui, ]aws, ana aevcioping te^jj aiao L_ e spoiling of xne c^wy uti^v* md louj oi tn_ moutn,ea.-. it is cum,enueu that an 'autnoritacive ballot wouiu u_ a more „iee„ve us.ci.-___ ;'_ u>anj quarters tJi-,11 p_rso.„i -^aaeiii;. \> c are urged 00 furc_ nome vie part played by one uumm), not only i„ uisiigurmg .he^enndi ior me ur.ci giving it a tendency to prominent upper lroni teem, ana a \veaii, lvtobiwiue luce, but also in giving r_e to moutnbreatning ana a_onbuis, iauigestion, etc. ' "No pains should be spared in this matter, _acl >ye nope tv n„>e a convincing leailet ay ou ior issue before tne end of t.u „ .ar. ■ j±o\vev©r, 1 may point out, in til_. meanoime, tnat aln-O-o'-ever^tning needing to 00 .sdia on the subject m "aireauy explained, and iilustra„a, on yugea l'a2 to ioo, and i_'J, 141 of tlie (society's Book. "_eecimg and .Care or tiaoy/' trom whicn i quote tne following:— EXTSACT FEOM "SOCIETY'S BOOK. ''The Society has been making strong efforts to. bring about the auoi.tion yjr the •ciunimy,- ulna nas uravvn tne attention o^r i_e Legislature to the extent and gravity.• oi tile evils resulting irom its use. JL>oetors anc dentists are at one on this mattei. Every year the journals or botn professions teem with references to the evils of the iMuinmy habit.' The abomination was scatningly denounced at a recent Dental Congress, and the following extracts from a letter since received by the Society from the Persident of the New Zealand Dental A_so- J ciation need no comment :-rIn really to your note (concerning the dummy), speaking from a dental | point of view, there can be no doubt as to its evil effects. . . . During early c4rlldhood the bones are soit 1 and easily moulded, so the use of any such appliance as the "dummy" is highly injurious. By its use the bones of both mouth and nose are involved. It is the cause, in most cases, of the contracted, or what we call the V-shaped arch, interfering with proper dentition, causing the teeth to erupt irregularly and to be misplaced, one of the most fre,quent types being protrusion, which in turn induces mouth-breathing and 'its train of evils, such as adenoids, enlarged tonsils, etc., thereby lower- I ing the vitality of the child and rendering it more susceptible to dis-1 ease of any and every kind. I have said enough from the dental point of view alone to warrant the authorities in taking steps to abolish the use of such contrivances as the "dummy." I fail to see any argument in its favour, especially when we consider.-he habit is an acquired one. Sopae years ago Dr. T. F. Pedley, M.D;, published a striking article in the ißritish Medical Journal, giving the results of his experiences 111 the; Far East and his researches in England as to the baleful influence of the "dummy" or "comforter." He said: . . . Apart from its mechanical.l effects upon the jaws and teeth, its | use is obnoxious and uncleanly, for j it introduces into the child's mouth.j dirt and micro-organisms, and causes j an abnormal secretion of saliva,! detrimental to digestion. Of course.' the "comforter" must be abolished and forbidden ; its use is injurious, and if resorted to after warning, should be deemed an indietablfl of- , fence. . . "Wherever I go the extraordinary prevalence of the use of the dummy has v astonished me. In the streets or travelling by rail,' I meet this thing; the children playing on the sands have it in their mouths. In tens of thousands the mischief has been done, they are shamefully disfigured for life. It seems to me that the arrest of this evil is as deserving of the attention of our legislators as many of the subjects -to which they devote so much time and energy. .' . Dr. Pickerill, Professor of Dentistry at Otago University, and the leading dentists of the Old World and America,' speak in similar terms as to the bale- j ful influence of the "dummy," and! this is confirmed by leading physicians j and surgeons. " ' . ' i WOMEN HARD TO MOVE! I Men are not far wrong when they' say it is a hard job to get a wrong idea out of our heads when it has become firmly established, and harder still to get us to give.up a bad habit. Jlndeed, some of the Plunket Nurses 'tell us that in the matter of the "dummy" a- leaflet would , work more re-

form through the fathers than through the mothers. I don't know whether there is much to choose. Suppose we try to convert both! 1