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Chengcen.W
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Breastfeeding with Cola
When westerners think about the termination of a pregnancy, they think of abortion – the removal, under medical supervision, of a partially formed foetus usually no more than 24 weeks into its development.
But in Kenya, as in much of the developing world, unwanted pregnancies all too often result in genuine infanticide: the killing of a healthy newborn baby.
A recent municipal clear up of a 400-yard stretch of the Nairobi River, which winds its way greasily through the capital, has forced Kenya to confront the issue in a way that many other African countries have not.
Over a single week in May, the corpses of eight infants were pulled from the river’s rubbish-choked waters.
Some young mothers feed them Coca-Cola instead of breast milk to make their organs collapse. Ginger beer is said to work just as well. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of others, are left to die in pit-latrines, rivers and rubbish dumps.
But in Kenya, as in much of the developing world, unwanted pregnancies all too often result in genuine infanticide: the killing of a healthy newborn baby.
A recent municipal clear up of a 400-yard stretch of the Nairobi River, which winds its way greasily through the capital, has forced Kenya to confront the issue in a way that many other African countries have not.
Over a single week in May, the corpses of eight infants were pulled from the river’s rubbish-choked waters.
Some young mothers feed them Coca-Cola instead of breast milk to make their organs collapse. Ginger beer is said to work just as well. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of others, are left to die in pit-latrines, rivers and rubbish dumps.
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