'Force-feeding dey dangerous, e fit kill your pikin'

Everybody wey born pickin hope say dem go grow to become better pesin for society.

But to raise dis pickins neva dey easy especially for families wey dey feed from “hand to mouth”.

Even for families wey get stable income e neva dey easy sake of parents gatz to go out and hustle for daily bread.

Na so some families decide to hire nannies or caregivers for dia pickins for house as dem go out to hustle.

Odas dey carry dia young pickins go crèche and oda pre-schools.

For Ghana for example, many parents dey carry dia pickins wey chop four months to one year to dis pre-schools.

Tori dey about how some of di teachers and caregivers for dis schools dey maltreat di pickins.

Your pickin fit to return from school wit one sickness or anoda.

Doreen Akorsah na new mama of a 9-month old baby boy.

Sake of im busy work, im carry am go one pre-school for Accra.

But im tok BBC pidgin say im pickin always dey sick.

“I carry my baby go school di time im dey six months, but we always dey go hospital for one issue or anoda.”

“Di pickin always dey sick, na so my husband tok say make we no carry am go di school again, until im grow small,” Doreen tok.

Doreen suspect say di teachers neva dey take good care of im pickin.

Oda parents sabi dis tin.

High court for Ghana jail one caregiver inside Happy bloomers private school, five years sake of im force-feed one 11 month-old baby wey im die.

Di 56 year-old caregiver wey im name na Clara Yanyi-Ampah inside one viral video in 2021, hook the hands of di baby for back wey im dey force food inside cup into di mouth of di pickin.

Di baby dey struggle wey im dey cry but di caregiver just dey force di food for di baby im face.

Afta sometime di baby shun dey make noise wey im dey “unresponsive”.

Anoda teacher for di school come find di baby say im no dey respond to anytin.

Na so dem carry am go hospital wey dem tok say im die.

At di time police don arrest 56 year-old Clara, wey dem charge am for manslaughter wey im plead not guilty.

Three years later, afta im plead guilty, di court don decide say im go sentence am sake of wetin di caregiver do na “reckless disregard for human life.”

But di judge Justice Marie-Louise Simmons on 21 May, sentence am only five years sake of im enta plea-bargain wit di attorney general.

Di happy bloomers school don tok say wetin dia caregiver do dey against school policy.

Di CCTV video dem provide to di police show say “di caregiver dey use cup to feed di pickin against school policy. Na spoon we dey take feed toddlers like Allegra wey don die.”

“Also di cup wey im use to feed di pickin neva be di school property.”

Di postmortem report wey dem present for court show say di pickin im lungs get plenti food particles.

Di food don block di pickin im respiratory system.

Di pathologist conclude say “di cause of death be asphyxiation sake of di force-feeding.”

Clara go begin im five-year jail term immediately in hard labour, but as im dey go inside prison, oda pipo fit learn lesson from wetin happun.

Force-feeding dey dangerous

One sabi pesin explain wetin dey happun during force-feeding of a pickin.

Dr Jenny Grant tok say food and air gatz one way dem dey pass until dey reach di back of di throat (pharynx).

“Inside di back of di throat, di trachea dey carry air wey di oesophagus dey carry di food. As pesin dey swallow di food, di airway suppose cover wit something dem call epiglottis.”

Dr Grant add say “pesin no fit to swallow and to dey breathe at di same time, di pickin gatz to hold dia breath as im dey swallow food.”

“Since pickins neva fit to hold dia breath for long, some of di food wey force enta di throat go pass thru di trachea into di lungs,” Dr Grant explain.

Im add say dis fit to cause infection and if di pickin no fit cough out di food wey enta di lungs, na big wahala.

“Depending on how much food wey don enta di lungs, even di best medical intervention no fit help, di pickin, im go die.”

Dr Jenny Grant don give some tips about how to avoid force-feeding and wetin you fit do if e happun.

*You for be patient wen you dey feed pickin - also whoever dey feed am gatz to dey play wit di baby to make am eat di food without stress

* tin you fit do, be say you go use plates and cutlery wey dey colourful to make it “attractive to dis pickins”

*If pickin dey cough continuously as you dey feed am, you for stop and get medical help

*Also pickin wey don dey breathe faster than usual fit to dey suffer chest infection especially associated wit fever or afta say someone don force-feed di pickin. Im require prompt medical attention


*Finally, if di pickin no dey feed well well, you gatz seek help from dietician or paediatrician to see how best to help di pickin


*Whether parents, nannies or caregivers for house or school, pipo gatz to dey careful about feeding pickins.

*Just know how to do am, so say you no go force-feed di pickin wey go fit cause serious wahala for di pickin and dia family.


CCTV video don capture how di 56 year-old caregiver for di private school force-feed di 11 month-old baby