OUR BABIES

Waikato Independent, Volume XXIV, Issue 2389, 28 October 1924, Page 2

OUR BABIES

(By “Hygcia.") (Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society-Tor tho Health of Women and Children). “It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom. ” THE DUMMY. LETTERS FROM PARENTS. There has been of late a good deal of controversy over the subject of the dummy. Tn Christchurch the other day there appeared a series of letters, some strongly defending; the dummy and some condemning it. It , give extracts below from two letters in which .the dummy is defended: —

“I can sav from experience that dummies do not cause adenoids. 1 have four children, and. the eldest lmd the dummy till she she was a year old; yet she has a lovely-shaped mouth and lovely teeth, and has been examined with the three other children by different doctors, and she is the only one that has no sign of adenoids."

Another mother writes: “I would like to sav that ‘ A.D. ’ is entirely wrong when he says that the dummy causes adenoids. I had four children, and not one of them ever had a dummy or a feeding bottle in his mouth; yet the youngest one was one of the worst cases of adenoids that the doctor had ever had, while the three eldest, never had any sign of adenoids. The doctor said he didn’t think any doctor could say exactly what caused adenoids. My opinion, is that it, is the habit of breathing through the mouth, and, if that is so, then the dummy is more likely to prevent than cause adenoids.” A PLUNKET NURSE’S REPLY. “There* is to-day much, discussion as to the benefits or otherwise, of the use. of dummies for babies, also as to whether the use of the dummy is the cause of adenoids. “To my mind it is incorrect to imagine that one factor alone is to be regarded a-s the sole cause of human degeneracy in any direction whatever.

“As regards statements made against the possibility of adenoids being due to the use of the dummy, I should like to say that from many years of study, experience, and observation it has been proved beyond doubt, that apart from a. predisposing lack of vitality and vigour, which may be present at the time of birth, the most important of-all causes of adenoids is the failure to breastfeed a baby, coupled with the use of a, dummy. The main stimulant for the good development and growth of the mouth, throat, nose., and air-wavs is an adequate blood supply to these regions, which is not produced in a bottle-fed baby, where he lacks hard work, and is allowed to idly suck a. dummy. The exercise of sucking tends to make the tongue broad and full, whereas bottlefeeding, aggravated by the use of a dummy, tends to make a narrow, poorly developed tongue. A hard-worked, well grown tongue moulds the roof of the mouth, the nose, and the .jaws on broad lines, and thus ensures spacious highways for food and air, and plenty of room for teeth; whereas, on the other hand, where hard work is unknown, in conjunction with the suckink of the dummy, we get the poorly developed tongue, forming a narrow, restricted airway, and as a result of these restrictions and imperfect.' developments the child becomes subject to colds, catarrh, swollen tonsils, adenoids, etc., and breathing takes place through the mouth.

“I would like to add that because a. child lias had a dummy, it does not necessarily follow that he must actually show obvious defects and deformities of the mouth, teeth, etc.; but the groat majority of children so treated do show sutdi defects more or less. Added to this, the use of a dummy induces a constant flow of saliva, and this diminishes tin* supply needed for digestion. The dummy is also one of the main factors in introducing microbe'-- into the child’s system, and so setting up trouble in various ways, such as the growth of adenoids, swollen tons*ls, colds, bronchitis, vomiting, and even diorrhoea. “Some people say that the dummy teaches nose-breathing. !-'\bluntly these people have not had the time, or have not considered it worth while, to verify their statements by the study of a child in the act of sucking a dummy. If studied, it would be found that the child does not work vigorously, blit idly sucks or licks it, without actually closing the lips tightly, and so there is a. constant inlake of aii through the mouth. “To the mother who says, ‘Well, the dummy has not done anv harm to my child so fa,r, ’’ all I can sav is that she does not realise that tin* child’s jaws, teeth, airways, digest iv«. apparatus, and in fact the whole system, would have been still better had no dummy been used; and that for one. case whore she can see no actual damage there are dozens of cases where the evil effects would bo clear even to herself if pointed out bv an experienced person.” I’lunket INur.so Aitken, telephone 192 M, office 1925. Airs J. W. Peake, Sec., I ’Junket Society, telephone 14.1 M,