- Mongolian Spots
- -- Did you tell the sitter?
About 90% of children of pigmented-skin races have so-called Mongolian spots. Because the spots resemble bruises, it is important that parents get their pediatrician to record specific references to the spots in the child's records as early as possible. It is also important that parents show and explain their child's Mongolian spots to others who may see the spots on their own, including family members and daycare providers or other sitters. Many parents have stories of being reported for apparent abuse when they have overlooked informing a sitter. One adoptive mother recently said that the social worker who did her homestudy told of being reported by her church nursery worker because her own adopted Korean child had a large spot. Another parent, when picking up her Chinese daughter from a new sitter's, remarked to the sitter that she had meant to talk about the toddler's Mongolian spots and asked the sitter if she knew what they were (as she pulled up the child's shirt). The sitter replied, "No. But I saw them and I didn't know what to do. I called up my girlfriend and she said to ask you about them."
Health-oriented parenting guidebooks, for example, The Baby Book (Sears & Sears) and Your Child's Health (Schmitt), usually have one or a few paragraphs on Mongolian spots. The spots are not related to disease; they may fade with time and may disappear completely. - BC
An article from China Connection, a national independent newsletter for China-adoptive families (June-July, 1996 issue)