Teething Myths and Practices among Nursing Mothers Attending the Paediatric Outpatient Clinic in a Tertiary Hospital in Southern Nigeria

Background: Misconceptions about teething are prevalent even in the 21st century, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. These myths, which are handed down from one generation to another may lead to trivialization of severe childhood illnesses as well as practices that negatively impact child morbidity and mortality.

Aim: The present study was carried out to determine teething myths and practices among nursing mothers attending the Paediatric outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital in Southern Nigeria.

Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional study of one hundred and forty eight nursing mothers of children aged 6-24 months who had erupted at least one tooth, who visited the children’s outpatient clinic of a tertiary health facility in Southern Nigeria. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. Descriptive statistics was used. Chi square tests of significance (Fisher’s exact test) were used with a 95% confidence interval (P< 0.05).

Results: A high percentage of mothers (95.9%) associated teething with various symptoms such as fever, gum itching and diarrhoea; majority of them got information on teething from health workers, personal experience or parents. About 41.9% of the children recruited had perceived teething symptoms. Furthermore, 51.4% of respondents said teething should be treated and health workers formed the bulk of prescribers of teething medicines, the commonest of which were teething syrups, paracetamol and teething powder while the least used was herbs. About half of the respondents believed teething medicines were effective. Most respondents would take their babies to the hospital for perceived teething symptoms like fever, diarrhoea or vomiting but were less likely to visit the hospital if catarrh, drooling of saliva or sucking of the fingers was observed. The level of education, occupation, tribe, age of mother or baby, sex or position of child did not significantly affect the use of teething medication but the presence of perceived teething symptoms especially fever and vomiting did.

Conclusion: Teething myths are common among nursing mothers attending a tertiary paediatric outpatient hospital in Southern Nigeria. The most common myths associated with teething were fever, gum itching and diarrhoea for which medications such as teething syrup, paracetamol and teething powder were prescribed. The association of these symptoms with teething could lead to trivialization of potentially severe childhood illnesses thus interfering with their prompt diagnosis and management. Continuous health education of nursing mothers and the community at large may be one of the ways of enlightenment on the innocuous and normal expectation of teething so as to avoid ascribing childhood ailments to teething.