OUR BABIES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 1 May 1922, Page 8

OUR BABIES.

(By "Hygeia.")

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children. THE DUMMY. A few weeks ago we were considering ■flic harm done by the use of the dxiSnuy. Jn this connection the following extract from a Northern paper ongastric influenza is interesting as emphasising the great need there is to direct the attention of our readers again an<3 again to the danger of allowing babies to' suck at dummies. It is stated in the article that young infants have been among the chief sufferers from influenza,, and one medical practitioner, on being interviewed, said: — "No, we cannot, 1 think, blame the water supply. In my opinion the epidemic is more likely to be due to cqutammation of food." JFlies have been | particularly bad .this summer, and! where fles congregated contamination i of food, followed. "Then, again, where there are "infants we usually find soothing teats. These are taken from tho child, placed on. one side, and immediately fles fasten on them. With what result? Poison is taken into the child's system the next time it is given the dummy." You will observe that the doctor says, "Where there are babies we usually find soothing teats." Qome years ago the society was asked to prepare an illustrated leaflet showing the damage done by the dummy to mouth, jaws, and developing teeth; also the spoiling of the airway aboye the roof of the mouth, etc. It was contended that an authoritative leaflet would be a more effective deterrent in many quarters than personal argument. We

were urged to force home the part played by <he dummy, not only in disfignring the child for life and givitig it a tendency to prominent upper front teeth and a weak, rabbit-like face, but also in giving rise to mouth-breathing and adenoids, indigestion, etc. No pains should 60 spared in this matter, and we hope soon to have a convincing leaflet available for issue. However, I may point out, in the meantime, that almost everything needing Ito be said on the subject is already ' explained and illustrated on pages 132 to 138, and 140,. 141 of the society's i book, "Feeding and Care of Uaby," ', from which I quote the following: — j The society has been making strong efforts to bring about the abolition of the dummy,. and has drawn the attention of the Legislature to the extent and gravity of the evils resulting from its use. Doctors and dentists are at one on this matter. Every year the I journals of both professions teem with 1 references to the evils of the 'dummy ■ habit.' The abomination was scathingly [denounced at a recent Dental Congress, and the following extracts from a letter since received by the society I f^om the president of the New Zealand ! Dental Association need no comment: In reply to your note (concerning the dummy), speaking from a dental 1 point of view, there can be no doubt as Ito its evil effects. During early childhood the bones are soft and easily j moulded, so the use of any such appli- \ ance as the dummy is highly injurious. By its use the bones of both mouth and nose are involved. It is the pause, in most cases, of the contracted, or what j we call the V-shaped arch, interfering with proper dentition, causing the teeth to erupt irregularly and to be misj placed, one of the most freqaent types ' being protrusion, which in turn induces

mouth-breathing and its train of evils, such as adenoids, enlarged tonsils, etc., thereby lowering the vitality of the child and rendering it more susceptible to disease of any and every kind. ... 11 have said enough from the dental point of view alone to warrant the authorities in taking steps vo abolish the use of such contrivances as the dummy. I fail to see any argument in its favour, especially when we consider that the habit is an acquired ons_ Some year§ %& gy : T. "F.~" Pedley, M.D., published a striking article in the British Medical Journal, giving the results of his experiences in the Far I East and his researches in England as to th,e baleful influence of the dummy or Comforter; IU saTd:-r-I Apart from its mechanical effects upon the jaws and teeth, its use is obnoxious and uncleanly, for it introduces into the child's mouth dirt and micro-organisms, and causes an abnormal secretion of saliva, detrimental to digestion. Of course, the comforter must be'abolished and forbidden j its use is injurious, and if

resorted to after warning, should be 1 cjeemed an indictable offence. i Wherever I go the extraordinary prevalence of the use of the dummy has astonished me. In the streets or travelling by rail I meet this thing f the 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 thef devote so much time and energy: Our own dental authorities and the leading dentists of the Old World and America speak in similar terms as to the baleful influence of the dummy, and this is confirmed by leading physicians and surgeons. Men are not far wrong when they say it is a hard job to get a wrong idea out of our heads when once it has become firmly established, and harder still to get us to give up a bad habit. Indeed, some of the Plunket nurses tell us that in the matter of the dummy a leaflet would work more reform through ,the fathers than through the mothers. I don't know whether there is much to choose. Suppose we try to convert both?