OUR BABIES

Southland Times, Issue 23374, 4 December 1937, Page 16

OUR BABIES

Wise Motherhood

(By

HYGEIA)

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the. Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society). DUMMIES AND FINGER SUCKING Following our article on teeth, we feel that it is expedient to say something of the untold harm that is done by giving babies dummies to suck or allowing them to suck their fingers. All the good materials that can be put into the building of good teeth, all the results of correct feeding and feeding methods in infancy and childhood, can be undermined by indulging these pernicious habits. It is a fact that some mothers, as a routine, will give their baby a dummy to suck—pop it into his mouth as soon as the feed is finished. Surely it must be ignorance that allows a mother to do this, for anyone who will pause to think must realize that no good can come of continual sucking. In early childhood the bones are soft and easily moulded, and the baby who sucks continually at a dummy, thumb, or fingers must certainly deform the bones of the mouth and nose. We find almost without exception the contracted or V-shaped arch or hard palate, which interferes with proper dentition. The narrow, badly shaped jaw causes the teeth to erupt irregularly and to be misplaced. Very often the upper front teeth protrude, and this induces mouth breathing with its consequent ills, such as adenoids enlarged tonsils, etc., all these complaints lowering the resistance of the child and rendering it more susceptible to disease of every kind. Many children are predisposed to defective teeth and jaws or to indigestion through ill-health in the mother, imperfect methods of artificial feeding (such as a teat with too large a hole and the bottle not being held correctly during the feeding), and the neglect of any of the factors making for good health (see “Feeding and Care of Baby,” pages 1-3, Sir F. Truby King); but the immediate exciting causes of mouth and teeth defects are the use of the dummy, sucking the fingers of thumb, a bad type of teat, or wrong feeding methods in artificially-fed infants, and subsequent pap feeding. If these last three were avoided and reasonable care were exercised by mothers with regard to their own personal hygiene and that of their offspring we should hear no more of bad teeth.

No one can pretend that the dummy is beneficial in any way. The most that can be said of it is that it some-

times affords the mother an easy, lazy means of keeping the baby quiet at the moment, instead of finding out the reason for his disquietude and attending to it.

The appearance of the baby is certainly not improved with a dummy projecting from his mouth: And think of the germs that are introduced into the mouth. How often is the dummy produced from a pocket, handbag, or picked up from the floor and given to the infant! Filth is introduced to the mouth, and baby develops a condition known as “thrush.” Seldom does a baby accustomed to having a dummy have a clean mouth. So besides causing structual deformities of the nasal passages and jaws, the dummy, by introducing germs into the system, undermines the constitution. It is rather extraordinary that many a mother who would not dream of giving her baby a dummy to suck will permit and even encourage him to suck his thumb. Actually, from the matter of dirt, there is very little to choose between thumb-sucking and dummy-sucking. The temptation to let a baby suck his thumb or fingers is a very real thing. He looks very attractive as he fumbles round and finally makes a successful grab and settles down to enjoy his illegitimate comforter. But what looks so pretty at one month looks anything but pretty at twelve, and every week adds to the difficulty. Only recently while consulting a dentist I was struck with the number > of plaster casts of ill-shapen jaws and ’badly spaced teeth which were in readiness for the day’s work. Being a Saturday morning, children were to be the patients, and, being interested, I was told what caused these defects. Almost without exception were thumb and finger sucking and dummies given as the causes. One cast depicted the teeth on one side of both upper and lower' jaws pushed inwards. This child, the dentist averred, was in the habit of going to sleep with a doubled-up little fist under his cheek. A simple, pretty little habit perhaps, but what an unexpected and calamitous result. The child would be saved a lot of unnecessary pain and mental suffering, and the dentist’s bill also would be much less, if parents and those responsible for the child would only realize how much depended on their I knowledge and treatment of the teeth. 1 Next week we intend to follow this article with one giving some suggestions for the prevention of thumbsucking.