Salma Hayek breastfeeds african baby

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

I would bet that firms like Nestle are well aware that these women can't afford their formula. I doubt that the donations are being done to get these women to buy anything.

Personally I think that ANY donation is a good thing whether it's formula or pumped milk or a real person. These people can't afford to be choosy.

Nestle in particular is well known for exploiting women in developing countries and using those "markets" to test out new products, additives , etc. It was actually Nestle's business practices in these countries that got the World Health Organization to implement standards for marketing products for infants in other countries.

"These people" also must be choosy as lactose intolerance and milk allergy is highly prevalent. Many Africans do not drink cows milk or have exposure to dairy products from cows milk at all and their body rejects any milk based formula leading to increases in diarrrea and other issues that increase dehydration and malnutrition. That means IF formula is an option (and I listed in my intial posts the many reasons it is not for those in the most highly impacted area), it is a very specific and often most expensive kind that is the only option.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

It was a very nice gesture for her to breastfeed that child but the truth is it won't matter in just a couple of hours when that baby is hungry again and there still isn't any food to give him. What happens when Ms.Hayek isn't there then?

Hopefully someone else will be. My son survived because someone was there just enough. Sometimes he went days without breastmilk and yes he was severely malnourished but he survived and now he is thriving.

I have seen kids come from circumstances like that and go on to do amazing things. The thing about trying to do ANYTHING in a place like Africa is it is all a drop in the bucket of what needs to be done. But if everyone added a drop soon the bucket would be all filled up. Unfortunately too many people think their singular effort will not make any difference.

 

[Tinijocaro]

It was a very nice gesture for her to breastfeed that child but the truth is it won't matter in just a couple of hours when that baby is hungry again and there still isn't any food to give him. What happens when Ms.Hayek isn't there then?

Yes, but isn't it nice for that baby to have a tiny break form the constant hunger? That baby also received nutrients and antibodies that will help it be just a tiny bit stonger.

If it was your child who was starving, wouldn't you be thrilled for him to have a meal, especially knowing it would be the only meal that day or week?

 

[PaulaSB12]

I would bet that firms like Nestle are well aware that these women can't afford their formula. I doubt that the donations are being done to get these women to buy anything.

Personally I think that ANY donation is a good thing whether it's formula or pumped milk or a real person. These people can't afford to be choosy.

So you get your nicely donated dried milk powder mix it up with extremely dangerous dirty water and feed it to your baby, who promptly gets a fatal disease and dies good donation? To give someone who can't use formula formula is pandering to your own ego. You want to help someone you give them what they need or don't bother.

 

[luvmy3]

Hopefully someone else will be. My son survived because someone was there just enough. Sometimes he went days without breastmilk and yes he was severely malnourished but he survived and now he is thriving.

Yes, but isn't it nice for that baby to have a tiny break form the constant hunger? That baby also received nutrients and antibodies that will help it be just a tiny bit stonger.

If it was your child who was starving, wouldn't you be thrilled for him to have a meal, especially knowing it would be the only meal that day or week?

Didn't I say it was nice?
For this particular baby he will be crying in a few short hours again to eat, and if there is no one there to offer him milk what happens then? She gave him a wonderful gift of food in that brief moment but her gift will not matter in the long run if he ends up starving.
Hopefully after seeing her, there will be more people willing to do the same, but they probably weren't lining up outside to do so after she had left

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

Didn't I say it was nice?
For this particular baby he will be crying in a few short hours again to eat, and if there is no one there to offer him milk what happens then? She gave him a wonderful gift of food in that brief moment but her gift will not matter in the long run if he ends up starving.
Hopefully after seeing her, there will be more people willing to do the same, but they probably weren't lining up outside to do so after she had left

Yes, IF he ends up starving. She built up his strength and bought him some more time so now he may not end up starving. I thank God the numerous women who saw my son starving and thought to feed him, didn't have the same mentality that it would not make a difference. Had it not been for many different women making that decision to feed him just even one time, he would NOT be here now. There is no question about it.

 

[legalsea]

Here is a link concerning the boycott against Nestle:

http://www.wearsthebaby.com/articles/nestle.html

For years and years I was very careful to not buy any Nestle product. I'm ashamed to say that in the past couple of years I have not been as vigilant. I believe I will start again.

 

[luvmy3]

Yes, IF he ends up starving. She built up his strength and bought him some more time so now he may not end up starving. I thank God the numerous women who saw my son starving and thought to feed him, didn't have the same mentality that it would not make a difference. Had it not been for many different women making that decision to feed him just even one time, he would NOT be here now. There is no question about it.

You are right , I mean if he ends up starving. When I say what she did doesn't matter, I don't mean it was pointless or meaningless. I just know that if this baby is starving and sick that her gift alone is not going to save his life. If what she did makes other women come foward and do the same it certainly isn't meaningless. But for this 1 week old sick, starving baby it may not happen until its too late. I do hope he ends up being as lucky as your baby.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

You are right , I mean if he ends up starving. When I say what she did doesn't matter, I don't mean it was pointless or meaningless. I just know that if this baby is starving and sick that her gift alone is not going to save his life. If what she did makes other women come foward and do the same it certainly isn't meaningless. But for this 1 week old sick, starving baby it may not happen until its too late. I do hope he ends up being as lucky as your baby.

That baby still looked strong. His eyes were not listless, his head not enlarged, he moved a lot, and he had the strength to suckle on his own. He has a great chance. I've seen children come back from MUCH, much worse.

What she did will likely not "make" other women come forward. Those women don't have tv's or magazines or even know who Salma is. They will feed the baby because the baby is hungry and they can help. Salma did it because she saw a small need she could fill and filled it, but it is not like it was groundbreaking there. This is common practice at least in East Africa. The women in these areas have been breastfeeding other people's babies for years. The sense of community in these high impact areas and helping others even when you have literally nothing yourself is very high. The problem is during times of drought and high disease when no one is producing enough milk for their own children, or in remote areas when there is simply no other healthy breastfeeding women at the time. But I have never seen a capable woman turn a truly hungry child away. I have unfortunately seen many severely malnourished women desparately trying to feed a baby and not having any supply.

 

[themarquis]

First, let me say I saw this video yesterday, and what she did was wonderful. There seemed to be no hesitation on her part, and very natural.

However, to say there is no access to bloodstream from the nipple and the areola area would be misleading. Why not take a small nic to the area and check if it bleeds. Well, I can almost guarantee it will. Therefore there is bloodsupply to the area. If she has any sort of dryness or cracks to area as many nursing mother do, then there is access to the bloodstream. Also, why studies show that HIV/AIDS looks as if it is not passed through salivia, the child could have any number of surface openings in the mouth, and lip area, due to poor nutrition and dehydration. Therefore it is then contact through blood. I do feel she did something very unsafe, and put her own child in jeopardy. She should have pumped and offered the milk by bottle. It would have been just as meaningful.

You are right that if Salma Hayeck had an open sore or deep, bleeding crack on her nipple and the baby had an open, bleeding sore in his or her mouth, then there would be an infinitesimal chance of transmission.

I don't know that I would agree it was "very unsafe", however, and I've never seen any documentation that a single case like this has ever happened. It's sort of like the hypothetical "what if I had an open sore in my mouth and I kissed someone who also had an open sore in their mouth -- would I get HIV" question. Theoretically, we could say sure it is possible, but has it ever happened? (the CDC has documented one kissing case where they say maybe, maybe not).

It certainly would not be my first thought in that situation, but maybe that's just me.

I am in agreement with you that if she had happened to have a pump and bottles with her, feeding pumped breast milk would have been a good option. Do most lactating women traveling in Africa haul pumps and pumping supplies around??

 

[okeydokey]

I think it's so sad that someone tries to do something nice for somebody else and other people find a way to pick at it and demean it.