Baby health myths

We are used to trust to our
grandmothers` and mothers` experience and advices. However, is such trust
righteous? May be, sometimes we should hold our own?

A baby is bawling desperately in a crib and you`re rushing to him, but
an experienced grandmother (mother, aunt, girlfriend) stops you saying: “Don`t
spoil your baby, let him crying - then his lungs will be healthier!” Few of
young mothers avoided such situations. How to behave in such situation? Should
we react to such advices (and how)? How correct these “folk advices” are? And
what do different doctors - pediatrists, stomatologists, orthopedists and surgeons
- say on this subject?

Is it truth that…

… a baby`s cry makes his
lungs stronger?
No! Adherents of strict upbringing with a slogan “you should not spoil
your baby” really like this statement.
However, doctors-otolaryngologists have quite opposite views. Mothers and
fathers, desperate yells are harmful for baby health! Long and loud crying does
not make respiratory tract stronger at all, but to the contrary, strains cords
abundantly,
causing their overstrain. And this in further can affect a baby`s quality of voice
negatively.

… if a baby has a big foot
size, does it mean that he is tall?
No, foot size has no connection with height. You don`t believe? Turn
around: probably there`re many very tall men and women among your friends with
small feet, and also those, who wear large shoes and are 1,60 m tall.

…a ripe apple will replace a
baby`s tooth-brush with success?
No. Although, when a baby crunches with an elastic pulp of a juicy apple
in the teeth heartily - this is very useful not only for teeth, but also for
gums. In general, an apple suits for tooth cleansing during a day excellently,
when a baby has no possibility to use a tooth-brush after meal. However, this
aromatic
and wholesome fruit cannot replace a routine morning and evening ritual of mouth
cavity care. The matter is, that while usage of a tooth-brush all teeth
surfaces are cleansed evenly. When a
baby chews an apple, incisors turn to be cleansed best of all (he uses them for
biting off), and molars are in difficulties - fructose damages calf’s teeth`s
enamel.

…if a baby learned standing
up independently, does it mean he will have curved legs?
No. It`s only heredity that affects a baby`s legs. So you should not
prevent your baby from investigation of outward things. If a baby “is not ready
yet” for such important change in life, as independent walking, he will fall
down or sit on the floor after an attempt to stand up, giving a loud warning
that you should raise him.

…all babies have blue eyes?
No, not all… Although by the moment of birth almost 100% of babies
have blue eyes. The matter is, that pigment cells, which provide eye color, are
still immature. So, a new-born`s eyes, strictly speaking, have no color at all.
And only after a couple of months parents will be able to say confidently,
whether they have a brown-eyed or blue-eyed baby.

…herbal treatment is
absolutely safe?
Not at all. Medicinal herbs - are same medicines, which contain drastic
substances. So you should not give your baby herbal teas without a doctor`s prescription.
Such “prophylaxis” can seriously undermine baby health - you know, herbs for
babies are not only brewed in smaller concentration, but are also strictly measured
out. Mothers of highly allergic individuals should be especially
cautious - many herbs and their pollen can cause exacerbation. Besides, herbal
dust
itself, contained in a packing inevitably, - is the strongest allergen.

…babies do not suffer from
headache?
It is not true! Unfortunately, every year quantity of babies, suffering
from migraines, grows. Approximately from 35% of children preschol age know
well about headache. Often heredity or intolerance to some foods (cheese, milk,
chocolate , nuts) become a reason for headache attacks. Sometimes headache can
become the first symptom of visual loop. Besides, children preschool age
often suffer from so-called tension headaches, which are connected with
increase of loads of babies. So, a baby`s complaints of a headache before performance
at a music school or English tests in a kindergarten - are not a fiction at
all. Listen to your baby`s complaints and pass investigation at a polyclinic.

…eating carrot is good for
vision?
Yes, but… no more, than, let`s say, red sweet pepper. Carrot contains beta-carotene,
or, as it is also called, pro-vitamin A, - this substance really affects eye
condition positively. While its lack ocular damages develop, up to ablepsia.
However, you won`t be able to raise vitamin A level only with help of carrot.

This vitamin is fat-soluble, and this means, one should eat it with fat-containing
foods (for example, with sour cream or vegetable oil). If you notice problems
with sight, firstly visit an oculist, probably, doctor will prescribe a baby
additional dose of vitamin A in drops. Attention: you should be very cautious
with such preparations - observe dosage carefully! The matter is, that big
doses of this vitamin can damage liver. And then you will have to cure it.