A police officer breastfed a “malnourished and dirty” baby that was brought into a Argentinian hospital while she was on duty because doctors were “too busy”. Celeste Ayala was on guard at the Sor Maria Ludovica children’s hospital in Buenos Aires when the baby was brought in screaming and crying.
Ms Ayala asked medics for permission to feed the boy because hospital workers were overloaded with work and she could see how hungry he was. She told reporters in Argentina: “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.” Ayala’s friend, Marcos Heredia, took the photograph and shared it online. It went viral and amassed more than 68,000 likes and 94,000 shares. Marcos claimed one of the hospital workers even called the baby “dirty” but Ayala did not care.
He said: “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, which is what the hospital staff called him. Good job mate.” Ayala who also volunteers in the fire brigade in her spare time was also praised on their official social media account. They shared the photo and said: “’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.” Local media reported, the baby is the youngest of six, from a single mum who is a bad situation.
Photo Credit: Getty
