When Celeste Ayala heard a baby’s cries in the hospital, she knew how to console him. Without worrying about her police uniform, she took the malnourished baby in her arms and unbuttoned her shirt to breastfeed him.
Do you think maternal instincts are only restricted to mothers? Sometimes, children also do things that exhibit the maternal side of their personalities. They love cuddling with stuffed toys and feeding their pet cats like babies.
In adults, being good at taking care of children is also not just restricted to parents. Sometimes, men and women who have no experience with babies surprise everyone when they are asked to look after a child. In today’s story, a female police officer, also a mother, did something unexpected when her maternal instincts kicked in.
Police Officer on Duty
It was a regular working day for police officer Celeste Ayala, who was present in the Sor Maria Ludovica children’s hospital in Buenos Aires in 2018. She looked at the people going in and out of the hospital as part of her duty.
The sound of a wailing baby distracted her when the hospital staff brought a malnutrition toddler through the main entrance. Ayala immediately ran towards the baby and asked the workers what had happened.
The hospital staff told her the baby was starving because his mother couldn’t afford to feed him, and he had five older siblings.
Motherly Instincts
Ayala felt heartbroken looking at the little baby crying at the top of his lungs. At that point, she knew what the baby wanted. She recalled what happened when her motherly instincts kicked in after looking at the baby:
“I noticed that he was hungry, as he was putting his hand into his mouth, so I asked to hug him and breastfeed him.”
After the hospital staff gave her permission, she immediately took the baby in her arms and unbuttoned her police uniform to breastfeed the baby. People looked at her with their eyes wide open because they weren’t expecting a police officer to calm the baby down like this.
Talk of the Town
While Ayala breastfed the baby without thinking twice, even after the staff told her he was “dirty,” her colleague, Marcos Heredia, took a picture of her and posted it on Facebook with a heartfelt note. He wrote:
“I want to make public this great gesture of love that you made today with that baby, who you did not know, but for whom you did not hesitate to act like a mother.”
After many people shared the post, it became viral, and Ayala’s kindness became the talk of the town. Once the news reached the higher authorities, Ayala’s boss called her into his office. Little did she know why he wanted to see her.
During the meeting, Ayala’s boss told her about the promotion she earned after going the extra mile while on duty by breastfeeding the malnourished baby. The minister of security of Buenos Aires province appreciated Ayala’s genuine efforts in his tweet by saying:
“That’s the type of police we’re proud of, the police we want.”
Not all heroes wear capes, do they? Ayala’s kind gesture proved she is no less than a hero. What do you think? Would you do the same if you were in her place?
Click here to read another story about a mother who caught a daycare worker breastfeeding her son. She took her child to the hospital immediately.
