birth activist

A few weeks ago, I received an inspiring photograph of a police officer breastfeeding a baby. She is in uniform, but it is unzipped and unbuttoned, in order to nourish this tiny baby. The woman looks worried and the scene around her is filled with chaos. She is in an earthquake shelter, with people and blankets everywhere.

Many thousands of families were affected by the recent earthquake in China. It had been estimated that 50,000 people were killed. In the shelters, there wasn't enough dry food for babies.

The officer in the photograph was breastfeeding two babies when interviewed and had actually fed 8 babies over the last two days. Five babies were orphans, and 3 babies had mothers who were unable to nurse. The officer was quoted as saying, "My babies are babies, other people's babies are all momma's babies."