April 6th, 2022 at 04:33 pm

Mothers Getting Their Babies Drunk with ‘Mmore Koko’ – GHS Cautions

Porridge organized from sieved maize, in any other case known as ‘Mmore Koko’ within the local dialect, has the tendency of getting infants who’re fed with it inebriated, the Ghana Health Service has discovered.

The pudding that has over time been the best meal for infants because of its smooth-to-put together nature and affordability is prepared from fermenting blended maize and made right into a meal for babies.

But when the maize is stored for too long, it turns into alcohol for these infants, which according to the Ghana Health Service isn’t always good for the brain improvement of babies, in particular the ones which are getting off different breastfeeding.

This forces the toddler to sleep and the result is that the child misses a few meals at some point in the day.

Mothers have consequently been advised now not to serve only this porridge, and in the event that they do they do not should ferment the maize, and in the long run, the pudding must be fortified.

Greater Accra Regional Nutritional Officer, GHS, Faustina Vimariba Tour made this recognized to the media on the sidelines of a media workshop for reporters prepared via UNICEF.

Vimariba Tour said “…some people will give only ‘Mori Koko’ and sometimes they over ferment the ‘Mori Koko’ which is the maize porridge and it becomes alcohol. So, when you feed the child with it, it means that the child ends up getting drunk because it is the alcohol you have given to the child, and when the child sleeps, the child will miss the number of times that they’re supposed to feed.”

As to whether or not there may be research to prove any long-time period results of this practice on children, she cited “we cannot really tell the alcohol percentage. but alcohol is not good for the brain development of the child so it has some effects. If it’s something they like, it should be fortified by adding other things to make it rich. Fortify it with groundnut paste, soya, etc. Also, it shouldn’t be very light but should be thick and friendly for the child. Three to four spoons is enough.”

In line with Madam tour, transitioning from extraordinary breastfeeding to including complementary food has grown to be tough due to the schedules of mothers currently.

Speaking to Starr reporters on the sidelines of a media workshop for journalists organized by UNICEF, she said this goes on to affect the feeding of children.

She indicated “because of how to transit from the exclusive breastfeeding to the addition of complementary food, the reason is that at 6 months, the nutrients in the breast milk is no more enough for the needs of the child. The child is growing, there are some gaps in Vitamin A energy, iron, and certain key nutrients so you need to add on food.”

She continued “you’re not going to stop breastfeeding but you add family food to the breastfeeding so that the child will be able to get the nutrients that the child needs and the transitioning has to be done gently and with love and care.”

“Some mothers do not have time, so they don’t pay attention, they just want to push the food for the child to be able to take within a certain period so they can move but responsible feeding meaning that you having time to be able to feed the child with love and care. So, the child sees the food as something that is enjoyable.”

“During these feeding times, it’s not just you giving the required nutrient but also building the food habits of the child. If you rush the child to eat fast, the child will learn to eat fast. And also not feeding with one type of food. Everything starts at this age. The child is like a tabular rasta If they [mothers] can get leave from work it will really help and anybody at home should also support.”

The workshop was on the topic ‘Equipping media people with data to support media reportage on nutrients and nurturing care.

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