Mom
My child is 5 months old, and his little pink face is chubby and very cute. Anyone who sees a child likes to pinch his face with his hand, pinch his cheek, or kiss the child hard. I don't like them doing that, but I can't find a reason to reject them. Does this hurt the child?
Dr. Zhang Silai
The mucosa in the oral cavity of newborns or infants is delicate, and the submucosal layer of the buccal part consists mainly of loose connective tissue, which is rich in blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and neural networks. There are many mucus glands in the buccal mucosa, and at the level behind the upper jaw there is an outlet for the parotid duct to flow saliva. However, the salivary glands of newborns and small infants are still underdeveloped, the amount of saliva secreted is small, the mucous membranes are drier, and they are easily damaged by external stimulation.
If someone always pinches the child's face, bilateral cheeks or kisses the child hard, it is easy to injure the delicate cheek mucosa, parotid glands and parotid ducts.
When the child is 4-6 months old, the salivary gland secretion increases, local external mechanical stimulation will increase the amount of saliva outflow of the child, because the newborn or small baby oral depth is not enough, will not control the saliva in the mouth, nor will it use the swallowing action to adjust the amount of saliva in the mouth, so the child is easy to salivate, resulting in oral mucositis and mumps. Please don't overly "kiss" your baby's little face.
Source: Zhang Silai's Scientific Parenting Dictionary