Police Officer Praised For Breastfeeding Neglected Baby

Marcos Heredia/Facebook

A police officer in Argentina has been praised for breastfeeding a neglected baby.

The baby was suffering from malnutrition when he was brought into Sister Maria Ludovica Children’s Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where police officer, Celeste Ayala, was on guard duty.

Local media report the baby boy was the youngest of six siblings, and the mother was struggling to cope. He was apparently described by hospital staff as being ‘smelly and dirty’.

Celeste realised the hospital staff were overloaded with work and unable to give the crying baby a lot of attention, so the kind hearted woman stepped in and asked if she could hold and breastfeed him.

Celeste Ayala/Facebook

The neglected child calmed down as soon as Celeste started feeding him.

The police officer spoke to local media about her actions, saying:

I noticed that he was hungry, as he was putting his hand into his mouth, so I asked to hug him and breastfeed him.

It was a sad moment, it broke my soul seeing him like this, society should be sensitive to the issues affecting children, it cannot keep happening.

Celeste’s colleague, Marcos Heredia, took a picture of her with the baby and posted it on social media. It’s since been shared over 100,000 times.

He wrote [translated]:

I want to make public this great gesture of love you made today for this little baby who you did not know, but for who you did not hesitate to act like a mother.

You did not care if he was dirty or smelly, which is what the hospital staff called him. Good job mate.

The local fire department, who Celeste volunteers for in her spare time, also praised the nurturing woman.

They said [translated]:

We want to congratulate the voluntary firefighting cadet Celeste Ayala who yesterday in her job as police officer whilst she was on guard duty at the Hospital, breastfed a young child who arrived crying.

Actions like these fill us with pride and obligate us to redouble the effort, the work and the solidarity with our community.

Presumably a friend of Celeste’s, Antonella Romano, commented:

I did not expect less from you! Not only are you a great woman, but a great mom. What pride, only those of us who know you know that everything you do is with love.

Those sharing the story on social media have also been quick to give their compliments to the police officer.

One person wrote:

In a messed up world, here’s a simple act of love and generosity. Celeste Ayala as a mother I salute you.

Another added:

Celeste Ayala, you are a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul. Bless you for caring about that poor helpless child.

A third said:

This is on duty police officer #CelesteAyala. She asked to look after a baby crying as overloaded staff in an Argentine hospital were unable to see to him.

She then breastfed him like an absolute trooper.

The power of woman. And the kindness of people #breastfeeding #police

Celeste truly seems like an all-around selfless and caring woman.

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Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.