From the archives: This story was last updated in May 2019.
Why can human beings be called human? It’s not just because humans have four limbs and a brain that can think and analyze, but because humans have a moral standard. This is why when we see touching displays of humanity, we feel inspired, we feel touched, we may even shed a tear.In a pure moment of humanity, Celeste Ayala, an Argentinian police officer on duty at Sor Maria Ludovica children’s hospital in Buenos Aires on Aug. 14, 2018, saw an unattended baby crying and asked doctors if she could breastfeed him, being a new mother herself.
“I noticed that he was hungry, as he was putting his hand into his mouth, so I asked to hug him and breastfeed him,” Ayala told reporters in Argentina.
Officer Ayala’s friend, Marcos Heredia, wrote hospital staff mentioned the baby was “dirty,” but that didn’t worry the officer one bit. All she had in mind was the welfare of the tiny guy who needed to be nursed.
The baby’s mother, who is single and has six children, was unable to care for him as she was apparently in dire straits according to local media.
As doctors had their hands full with work, this baby obviously needed some mothering, so Ayala took the initiative to step in to help after being granted permission. After all, one cannot ignore a helpless baby in that kind of situation.
“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,” Heredia wrote in a Facebook post. “You did not care if he was dirty, which is what the hospital staff called him. Good job mate.”
Heredia’s post showing the officer breastfeeding another mother’s baby drew some 158,000 reactions on his own social media page, not to mention the attention this story has since received worldwide.
Ayala is both a police officer and a volunteer firefighter for her community.
The fire brigade where Ayala volunteers commented, “Actions like these fill us with pride and obligate us to redouble the effort, the work and the solidarity with our community.”
