Close Ad

Police Officer Breastfeeds Malnourished, Abandoned Baby, Teaches Us a Powerful Lesson in Compassion
Police officer breastfeeds baby
Everyday Heroes

Police Officer Breastfeeds Malnourished, Abandoned Baby, Teaches Us a Powerful Lesson in Compassion

An Argentinian police officer’s gesture of love is receiving recognition from around the world after a photo of her breastfeeding a malnourished baby went viral.

Officer Celeste Jaqueline Ayala was working overtime on guard duty when she and her partner Marcos Heredia were called to the Children's Hospital of La Plata. Social workers had arrived to the hospital with a family who needed urgent care.


crying baby with a rose near its head

The couple’s 6 children were being separated from their parents due to signs of abandonment. The children, who ranged from the ages of 9 years old to 6 months old, were malnourished and severely dirty, and described to have been living in detrimental conditions. Both the parents were described as unemployed and having addiction problems, and were deemed unfit to care for their children.

As Ayala escorted the children to receive care, she noticed the 6-month baby would not stop crying. She described feeling a strong maternal instinct, and asked the caretaker if she could breastfeed the baby since she had a 18 month old toddler whom she was still breastfeeding, and the caretaker approved. Ayala did not hesitate to take the baby and care for her, feeding and showing affection for the baby.

RELATED: Flight Attendant Asks Mom And Crying Baby To Step To The Back - What He Did Next Surprised Them

“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 to Cronica. “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.”

In the interview, she was asked what she felt about having to separate the children from their parents, and what was going through her heart at that moment.

“When the children arrived at the hospital, and we saw their situation, we could not stop crying. The kids would cry and we would cry… later the children calmed down, and we played with them” She explained how they helped to ease the children by using office chairs to play with kids and roll them, and this helped their treatment to go smoother.

Her act of compassion was recorded by her partner, Heredia, who praised her in an endearing message honoring Ayala’s selflessness:

“I want to make public this great gesture of love that you had today with that little baby… who without knowing you didn’t hesitate and for a moment you fulfilled how if you were her mother. You don’t care about filth and smell... things like that don’t [happen] every day.”

The post went viral and has been shared over 162K times, and has earned her numerous tributes from organizations in Argentina and abroad. The fire department where Ayala volunteers honored her act of compassion:

"Actions like that of this cadet fill us with pride and force us to redouble our efforts, work and solidarity with our community," the department wrote onFacebook.

Hoy recibimos a Celeste, la oficial que amamantó a un bebé en el Hospital de Niños de #LaPlata para notificarle su ascenso. Queríamos agradecerle en persona ese gesto de amor espontáneo que logró calmar el llanto del bebé. La policía que nos enorgullece, la policía que queremos. pic.twitter.com/8aBp0Xj4Zj

— Cristian Ritondo (@cristianritondo)

Cristian Ritondo, minister of security of the Province of Buenos Aires, met with Ayala in person to announce her promotion from officer to sergeant, writing in a Twitter post:

“We wanted to thank her in person for that gesture of spontaneous love that managed to calm the baby's cry. The police that make us proud, the police we want.”

More Uplifting News from Goalcast:

Hot Stories

Leonardo DiCaprio Told Kate Winslet To “Let The Fat Girl Thing Go”
Leo Dicaprio Told Kate Winslet To “Let The Fat Girl Thing Go” …

Forced to feel ashamed for her weight and appearance, Kate Winslet struggled with her body image for years. The media loved to tease her for being “the fat girl,” but there was ONE PERSON who saw the real her. What did Leo see in Kate? And what important message does Kate have for young women everywhere?


Keep ReadingShow less
Videos
dave chappelle and wife elaine

Dave Chappelle may be one of the most popular comedians in the world, but to his wife Elaine, he's just Dave.

Chappelle had his big break with his Comedy Central Show Chappelle Show which ran from 2003 to 2005. The show was enormously popular and put Chappelle on the map. Chappelle’s Show was scheduled to have a third season after the success of the first two seasons but that never happened.

Keep ReadingShow less
Celebrities
41 Daughter Quotes That Will Touch and Melt Your Heart
daughter quotes

Having a daughter is undoubtedly a blessing. However, raising a girl with high self-esteem can be quite challenging. Between social media's filtered reality of perfect women and society's shifting expectations, parents face the daunting task of nurturing authentic self-worth in their daughters.

These carefully selected daughter quotes help provide a starting point. They're simple reminders that whatever accomplishments you may have to date, raising a daughter is probably your biggest one.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family