Mother jailed for force-feeding baby

A nurse who force-fed her baby, who later died, was jailed for three years yesterday.

Gloria Dwomoh, 31 was found guilty at the Old Bailey last month of causing or allowing the death of 10-month-old Diamond. The court heard she was obsessed with her daughter's weight and fed her with liquidised food from a jug when she was weaning her.

Diamond died in March last year after being taken to a hospital near her home in Waltham Forest, east London. A post-mortem examination found she died from pneumonia caused by food, including meat and cereals, in her lungs. The prosecution said the baby had been forced to take her feed from a jug after the spout was placed in her mouth "to prevent her closing it".

Trevor Burke QC, for the defence, said: "She has endured the loss of her child. She has been punished enough." He presented the court with a 1,000-signature petition pleading for mercy. But the Common Serjeant of London Judge Brian Barker described her actions as a "misguided obsession".