Ghana Health Service has advised new mothers to stop feeding their babies with white porridge otherwise known as “Mori Koko” in Ghana.
They explained that the porridge prepared from sieved maize, gets the babies drunk as a result it’s not good for them.
According to the GHS, when the maize is kept for too long, it ferments and turns into alcohol for these babies which hinders their brain.
Mothers have therefore been advised not to serve only this porridge, and if they do they do not have to ferment the maize before feeding their babies.
Greater Accra Regional Nutritional Officer, GHS, Faustina Vimariba Tour made this known to Starrfm.Gh on the sidelines of a media workshop for journalists organized by UNICEF.
Madam 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.”“we cannot 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, etcAlso, it shouldn’t be very light but should be thick and friendly for the child.
Three to four spoons is enough,” she said.
