Wet nursing was a common practice before the invention of infant formula and feeding bottles. Moreover, a woman, whose body is producing something naturally, does have the choice to use it in a powerful and positive way. And this is just like what the Frida star and long-time champion for women’s welfare, Salma Hayek, has done by offering her milk to a total stranger’s malnourished and hungry baby.
We at Bright Side love lauding stars who are dedicated to charity. And here’s a heartwarming story of a Hollywood actress that shows us how sometimes it takes so little to make big changes.
A truly selfless and noble act
Actress and producer Salma Hayek arrived in Sierra Leone back in September 2008, not as a celebrity, but as a humanitarian, to take part in an African charity mission. While touring a hospital, she came across a mother who had run out of milk. Hayek, who had a one-year-old daughter at the time, took the stranger’s malnourished one-week-old son and began breastfeeding him despite the presence of many camera crews around her.
Encouraging her daughter to become a generous and caring person as she grows up
After the breastfeeding incident, she admitted she had mixed feelings that she might have been disloyal to her own daughter by giving her milk away. However, she then thought her daughter wouldn’t mind sharing her milk, but instead, said “I actually think my baby would be very proud to be able to share her milk.”. She also stated that when she grows up, she’ll encourage her to continue to be a generous and caring person. And she proudly added, “I think that’s the best thing I can give her as a mother.”
Kindness and selflessness run in Hayek’s family.
In addition, Hayek explained that the idea of helping a child in this way was a long-running tradition in her family. In fact, many years ago in a Mexican village, her great-grandmother saved the starving baby of an inconsolably crying stranger by breastfeeding the child who, in turn, instantly stopped crying.
Breastfeeding: a choice, not a stigma
Hayek claimed that her decision to breastfeed that stranger’s child was also an attempt to diminish the stigma placed on women for breastfeeding. And with this act of kindness, she also made a point loud and clear about how women should have a choice about it and not be afraid of their bodies.
What are your thoughts on breastfeeding a child who is not your own? We’d love to hear your opinion in the comment section below.
