Well, when eight different people email you about a story in the news, it's probably a sign that you should post about it! Thank you to everyone who sent emails about this amazing story.
Earlier in the week I posted about breastfeeding in emergencies, prompted by the disasters in Burma and China. Later, a story emerged about a mother (and policewoman) who has been nursing nine different babies in the wake of the earthquake in China. Five were orphaned, and some had mothers who were unable to produce enough milk for them.
Here's the video on CNN. The Chinese press have named her "China's Mother #1."
According to the Emergency Nutrition Network, wet nursing is an option to be explored in cases of disaster:
Mothers who have stopped breastfeeding should be encouraged and provided with assistance to start breastfeeding again (i.e. to relactate). In cases where there are babies whose mothers have died or cannot be located, the option of wet nursing, where another woman breastfeeds the baby, should be explored. In such situations babies may be breastfed by a woman who is already breastfeeding, or a friend or relative may relactate.
Of course, HIV can be passed through breastmilk, so the preferred option is screened and pasteurized donor milk. Unfortunately, supplies of donor milk are often not available in emergencies. So the question in these cases becomes: what is the risk to the baby from wet nursing, versus the risk of life-threatening diarrhea/dehydration caused by unclean water, or even starvation?
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