Child mortality due to soft porridge aspiration in healthy infants

Abstract

Prevention of under-five mortality is a priority of the World Health Organization, whose Sustainable Development Goals include ending preventable deaths in children under five. Two case reports of infant deaths due to soft porridge aspiration (in non-predisposed infants) are presented here. In healthy infants, feeding problems result from an interplay of cultural influences, parental concern and child factors, which may lead to food aspiration. It is hypothesised that the deaths presented were likely due to forceful feeding practices and it is suggested that further research be undertaken to quantify and correlate food aspiration deaths with forceful feeding practices.