A police officer in Argentina is teaching the world an important lesson in compassion after breastfeeding a malnourished baby. Officer Celeste Jaqueline Ayala was working at the Sor Maria Ludovica children’s hospital in Buenos Aires when a baby was brought in. Ayala, who had guard duty at the hospital, happened to notice the neglected baby and without a moment of hesitation, she asked the doctors for permission to hold and feed the child who was desperately crying. It took her just one glance to understand that the baby was hungry and because the hospital staff was already overloaded with work, she decided to volunteer.
As she cuddled the baby and began to breastfeed him, he immediately stopped crying. A picture of Ayala breastfeeding the infant went viral on social media soon after. “I noticed that he was hungry, as he was putting his hand into his mouth, so I asked to hug him and breastfeed him,” she said according to Daily Mail. Explaining what was going on in her mind at that point, she continued, “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.”
Marcos Heredia, a fellow cop and friend of Ayala, revealed how the hospital staff called the baby “smelly and dirty” but that did not dissuade the kind-hearted police officer from helping him, according to New York Post. So as Ayala started breastfeeding the hungry baby, he took a picture and shared it online. “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.” he wrote in the caption.
Ayala’s beautiful, selfless gesture moved many including the Bomberos Voluntarios Berisso fire brigade, where she volunteers from time to time. “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,” it wrote in a tribute. Her friend commented on the post writing, “I didn’t expect any less from you! You are not just a great woman, but a great mother. What pride, those who know you, know that everything you do is with.” As for the child, he is the younger brother of six siblings whose single mother was in a dire situation.
Cover image source: Facebook | Bomberos Voluntarios Berisso
