A story has resurfaced of one of Hollywood’s most loved actresses. Salma Hayek, the Oscar nominee for her role as Frida Kahlo, was on a humanitarian mission in West Africa to raise awareness about tetanus vaccinations. Along her journey, she made headlines for breastfeeding another woman’s malnourished infant.
History of wetnursing
In the old days, many women of nobility did not breastfeed their own babies. It was considered an unconventional practice and borderline improper. Instead, they would make use of another woman who had just had a baby of her own and was producing breast milk. They were called wet nurses. The practice was also used by the less fortunate. In the case that they did not produce their own supply.
These days it is quite the opposite phenomenon. Since the introduction of baby formula, there is no need for wet nursing. Furthermore, most women find it strange for their baby to suckle on another woman’s bosom. However, it is not unheard of.
Read: Woman Shocked To Discover Mother-In-Law Breastfeeding Baby On Nanny Cam
Salma Hayek’s humanitarian mission
In 2009, Salma Hayek was on a humanitarian mission in Sierra Leone in west Africa. The aim of the trip was to raise awareness of one of the leading causes of death in the world, tetanus. However, this is not the average kind of tetanus that can be sorted out with an injection from your doctor. It is the neonatal and maternal, MNT, tetanus that causes the death in over 20% of babies and their mothers in Sierra Leone. While she was on tour, she met a starving 15-year-old mother. She had a one-week-old baby who was coincidentally born on the same day as her own daughter.
The struggling mother was so malnourished that she wasn’t producing milk for her infant. So, Salma sat down with her and breastfed the baby with her own milk. “We had so many things, but we didn’t have milk, except I remembered that I had milk because I was weening my daughter,” said Salma. “I just weened my daughter from breastfeeding not long ago, and I said, ‘I got milk.….’ I sat down, and I breastfed this baby.”
Amazing. @salmahayek talks about breastfeeding another woman’s baby in Sierra Leone. @UNICEFUSA pic.twitter.com/jE88HToObp
— Marc Malkin (@marcmalkin) April 15, 2018
Read: Mom shamed for breastfeeding in public, refuses to cover up, and continues feeding baby like a boss
Salma Hayek – leading by example
Salma Hayek’s daughter, Valentina, was one year old at the time she breastfed the 15-year-old’s infant. She had just managed to wean her daughter off her milk, but her body was still producing it. “The baby was perfectly healthy, but the mother did not have any milk,” she told ABC news. “I was weaning my daughter Valentina, but I still had a lot of milk, so I breastfed the baby. It was amazing because he was really looking at me and he’s very little. My baby is one year so he can suck a lot harder.”
Some women commented on social media expressing concern for her own daughter needing the milk. “Am I being disloyal to my child by giving my milk away?” She asked herself, “I actually think my baby would be very proud to be able to share her milk. When she grows up, I will make sure she continues to share and be a caring and generous person.”
Not the first wet nurse in the family
Salma went on to say that this was not the first time a woman in her family breastfed a stranger’s baby. Her own grandmother had done the same for a poor woman and her baby in a Mexican Village. “My great-grandmother was in a Mexican village and they found a woman in the street who was inconsolably crying and the baby was also crying,” recalled Salma.
“My great-grandmother asked what the matter was and the mother said, ‘She is very, very hungry and I have no more milk‘. And in the street, my great-grandmother breastfed that baby who instantly stopped crying and went peacefully to sleep. I was really impressed by that story.”
Keep Reading: Mom Who Kept Children Alive by Breastfeeding Them After Boat Accident, Died | She Drank Her Own Pee to Save Her Kids
Sources
- “Salma Hayek On Why She Breastfed Another Woman’s Baby.” ABC News. Kimberly Kaplan. February 4, 2009.
- “Salma Hayek breastfeeds a stranger’s baby in Africa after the mother runs out of milk.” Daily Mail. Simon Cable. February 11, 2009.
- “Salma Hayek Recalls Breastfeeding Another Woman’s Baby During UNICEF Trip to Sierra Leone.” Holywood Reporter. Marc Malkin. April 15, 2018