MANGONDI - A one-year-old baby allegedly choked to death while his mother was feeding him at Mangondi village last Wednesday (April 3).

Capt Ailwei Mushavhanamadi, spokesperson for the SAPS in the north, stated that it is alleged that mother was applying the traditional feeding method when her baby died. The mother used one hand to block the nostrils of the baby enabling him only to breath through the mouth. This leaves the baby gasping for air and only able to take in air through the mouth.

As the baby breaths through its mouth the mother fills her other hand with soft porridge and forces it into the baby’s mouth. As the baby struggles to take in air it also swallows in the porridge.

The mother usually forces as much porridge into the baby’s mouth, until she is satisfied that the baby has had enough. It is during this action that some babies are overwhelmed by the porridge till it is unable to go into the stomach. Instead, the porridge goes down the breathing channels and into the lungs.

This results in the baby’s breathing organs blocked and the baby chokes to death. Numerous babies have allegedly been killed by this primitive way of feeding. Although health workers and police are trying their best to educate mothers and stop them using this method, it still widely applied.