Policewoman praised for breastfeeding ‘malnourished’ baby boy in hospital

A policewoman in Argentina is being praised after an image of her breastfeeding a malnourished baby went viral.

Celeste Ayala was on duty at the Sister Maria Ludovica children’s hospital in the city of Berisso when a baby boy was brought in. He had clearly been neglected and was in distress but hospital staff were overwhelmed and couldn't get to him straight away. Celeste asked the medics whether she could feed him herself. She was allowed to and the little boy calmed down once fed. “I noticed that he was hungry, as he was putting his hand into his mouth, so I asked to hug him and breastfeed him," Ms Ayala told local media. “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." Her friend Marcos Heredia took the photo and shared it on Facebook, praising her for her kindness. "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," he wrote. "You did not care if he was dirty or smelly, which is what the hospital staff called him. Good job mate." According to local media, the baby is one of six children from a single mother who is struggling to cope with her young family.