CLAIM: Siyanai nekupa vana cooking oil (do not feed cooking oil to babies), dangerous to the baby’s lungs.
SOURCE: An account on X
VERDICT: True
A number of Zimbabwean communities still have many cultural ties and taboos linked to mothers and newborns. Some of these range from the treatment of the umbilical cord, ‘protection’ of the fontanelle to breastfeeding practices.
A practice that has come under the spotlight is the use of oils – vegetable, seed or animal oil.
An account on X posted advising people to stop giving cooking oil to babies as this was dangerous to the baby’s lungs.
But we grew up on it!
The comment section makes for interesting reading with most of the people swearing by cooking oil.
Some of the comments include, ‘Imi makakura muchitopiwawo cooking oil nhasi makuti yashata Doc. Without that cooking oil, mungadai musina kusvika pamuri apa (You grew up being given that cooking oil and now you are saying it’s bad. Without that cooking oil you would not have grown up to be what you are now)’ and ‘Haaa will need more facts here. Almost all children in Zim born in the 80’s and before vakapihwa (were given) cooking oil. Am not saying it’s good. But l want you to justify its dangers by facts given this information’.
Doesn’t matter whether it’s coconut oil
Doctors have raised the issue of lipoid pneumonia in babies and the role that cooking oil plays.
Lipoid pneumonia in infants and children is a consequence of the aspiration of either vegetable oil, mineral oil or animal fat that is given orally or instilled intranasally.
In a video prepared by the Paediatric Association of Zimbabwe, featuring doctors from across the region, the dangers of this practice are highlighted.
Dr Norbertta Makombe is one of the paediatricians featured on the video.
‘In most cases, Zimbabwean babies are given one to three teaspoons of oil daily to deal with stomach cramps, constipation and also for religious purposes. As you give the child that oil every day, little by little, it accumulates and forms a thick layer around the lungs,’ she says.
’It does not matter whether you boil it, whether it is olive or coconut oil or whether it is one teaspoon a day. Unfortunately, the lungs cannot break down the oil. The oil causes inflammatory reactions which damage the lungs. The resultant damage is very difficult to treat and can result in death. The best way to manage the condition is to stop giving oil to children,’ she continues.
Is there any research?
In response to this initial post on X, one account wrote, ‘Please reference for us 1 or 2 studies that show ingested oil as risk factor’.
A 2008 study showed that although exclusive breastfeeding is encouraged for the first 6 months of a baby’s life, this is disrupted in a lot of instances, by ‘protection feedings’.
‘During the first 2 months of life, “protection feedings” using traditional oral remedies (such as cooking oil and water) to prevent or treat perceived illness, specifically colic and sunken/depressed fontanel, made up 78.5% of the non-breast milk feeds.
’Of the 229 MBF infants, 167 (72.9%) were administered their first non-breast milk feeding for protection from or treatment of a perceived illness associated with early infancy [“nhova” (fontanel issues associated with perceived metaphysical reasons), “ruzoka” (colic or stomach problems), or other illness]. All of these “protection feedings” were 1 of 3 foods: cooking oil (81.4%), water (10.8%), or traditional medicine (7.8%). The decision to give protection feedings was influenced by the mother herself (43.1%), her mother or mother-in-law (26.9%), the church (13.2%), health workers (4.2%), her husband (2.4%), and other family and community members (9.0%),’ reads the study conclusion.
Another study carried out in 2016 in Masvingo, showed that ‘most mothers believe that newborn babies should be given cooking oil and water to drink (92.0% and 52.0% respectively)’.
The studies show that giving cooking oil to babies is considered ‘normal’ by a lot of mothers. This practice, however, is not confined to Zimbabwe.
The danger
Exogenous lipoid pneumonia (ELP) in infants and children is a consequence of the aspiration of either vegetable oil, mineral oil or animal fat that is given orally or instilled intranasally. It has been reported in areas, where the use of oils is a part of traditional remedies.
In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of the practice of herbal medicine was 59.3% in 155 children admitted with acute lower respiratory illnesses, especially in bronchiolitis, where sesame, fenugreek and olive oils were the most common.
Ghee is an animal source oil that is often used by Saudi older generation as a traditional habit to increase nutritional support and clear the nasal blockage. In 1995, these researchers were the first to report the clinical and pathological change of four children following the practice of force feeding with animal fat (ghee) in infancy in the southern part of Saudi Arabia.
The aspiration of fat animals induces diffuse lung injury. Exogenous lipoid pneumonia occurs due to the build-up of lipids within alveoli caused by the aspiration of oily material from animal, vegetable, or industrial sources.
Children in Saudi Arabia developed lipoid pneumonia after aspirating ghee, an animal-based oil that is used in the region because it is believed to relieve cough and cold symptoms, improve bowel movements, have nutritional value and enhance overall health. This rare disease has been reported in countries, where traditional practices involve the use of oil that is instilled as nasal drops or given orally.
Cases have also been reported in the other countries with similar beliefs, such as Oman, India, Mexico, Brazil and Ghana. The belief in these countries is that putting oil in the nose of a baby is thought to relieve nasal obstruction, especially during cold weather or flu illness. It is thought to improve the immunity and increase the weight of babies.
Coconut oil as a nutritional supplement
Despite blogs touting coconut oil as a nutritional supplement for babies, there is no clinical evidence supporting the use of coconut oil as a supplement for poor weight gain in infants.
A study done on very low birth weight babies using coconut oil demonstrated poorer weight gain and possible harmful effect with coconut or safflower oil. A more recent randomized controlled trial with oral coconut oil showed no significant effect on weight gain and no effect on head circumference and length.
Research shows that oral administration of coconut oil should be avoided in infants who have had low birth weight and poor weight gain even on pure breastfeeding.
Conclusion
Despite giving oil to babies being considered a ‘normal’ practice by some Zimbabweans and sticking to it because their mothers used it, research has shown that it is unsafe and does damage babies’ lungs as claimed, even causing death in some instances. Paediatricians in the country have raised the alarm on the increase of lipoid pneumonia in babies due to this practice. These cases are not only in Zimbabwe but have also been reported in other countries with similar beliefs, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, India, Mexico, Brazil and Ghana.
