OUR BABIES

Northern Advocate, 15 July 1933, Page 4

OUR BABIES

(By Hygeia.)

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and • - Children (Pluuket Society). “It.is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.” . “THE, DUMMY.” Though for a great many years leading authorities have condemned the use of., the dummy, or comforter, mothers .will persist. in ’ using this abomination.

Only a few weeks ago travelling by train in the same compartment as myself were two young mothers with their babies. One baby, fortunate in having a mother who evidently realised the value of something hard for him to bite on, was contentedly biting and playing with an ordinary clothes.peg. The other, just as beautiful an infant as the first-mentioned baby, was.sucking.away at. a dummy. This mother show-ed in her eyes her pride of her baby, but surely she didn’t realise what harm she was subjecting her child to by giving him a dummy to suck!

Very often, when mothers are approached about this procedure, the reply will be that there has been no harm done, so far. One is amazed at the point of view of mothers who speak in this way. They- are quite prepared to persist, in a wrong course untii they can see actual definite harm, which by that time is more or less irreparable. One hears: “I know 7 such and. such a child, who had a dummy, and his teeth are all right,’’ They don’t realise that the child’s jaws, teeth, and digestion would have been still better had no dummy been used, and'that for one case where they can see ho damage there would be a dozen cases where the evil effects would bo clear if pointed out to them. A child may be predisposed to defective teeth, jaws, or digestion through ill-health in the mother, imperfect methods of artificial feeding (such as a teat with too large a hole), or neglect of any of the factors making for good health (such as fresh air, exercise, regularity, etc,), but the immediate exciting causes of mouth, and teeth Refects, and adenoids are tTie use of the dummy, a bad type of .teat* and wrong feeding methods in artificially fed infants,- and subsequent pap feeding. If the last three were avoided, and reasonable care were exorcised by mothers with regard to their own personal hygiene and that of their offspring, we: should hear no more about bad teeth and adenoids.

It is not suggested because a particular child used the dummy there? tore it must show characteristic deformities of month and teeth, etc,, but that the great majority of children so treated do such defects, and these will be aggravated by neglect of care and attention in regard to any of the factors making for health. The most; deplorable cases are seen where all the adverse factors mentioned are brought to bear in the case of a particular Child who has been delicate at birth; whereas a child robust at birth, subjected to only one harmful influence (say, for instance, the use of the dummy), may escape not really “scot free, “ but to outward appearance undamaged.

The following extract taken from a letter received by the society from J Mr T. A. Hunter (president of the New Zealand Dental Association) and published in “Feeding and Care of Baby” explains very clearly the evil effects of the dummy:—“During early childhood the bones are soft and easily moulded, so that the use of any such appliance as the dummy is highly injurious. By its use the bones of both mouth and hose are involved. It is the cause in most eases of the contracted, or what we call, the V-shaped arch, interfering with, proper dentition, causing the teeth to erupt irregularly and to bo misplaced, one of the. most frequent types being protrusion, which in turn induces mouth breathing with its train of ills, 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. ...>>■

Added to this are the germs which are introduced into the mouth by the dummy itself, for how often is it taken out of. a pocket or dropped to the floor;and.then, given to the infant! No one can pretend that the dummy is beneficial in any way. The most that can be said is that it sometimes affords an easy, lazy means of keeping the baby quiet at the moment instead of finding out and attending to his real needs.

The appearance of the baby is certainly not improved with such a contrivance projecting from its mouth! What right have parents to shirk their responsibilities and say: ‘‘lf baby cries push a dummy into his mouth and let ns have peace.’ ’ The matter is -much too . serious to be dismissed so summarily, and it behoves all parents who will-not accept what we put forward to look into the matter and carefully weigh what the great authorities—doctors and dentists alike —have to say on the subject. Among those qualified to speak there is but one verdict, and those who have not the time for investigating may take on trust the advice, “Destroy at once any dummies you may have in your possession.”