"I'm like an alcoholic. It's like, I don't care if I cry, I don't care if I'm fat, I'm just gonna do it for one more week, one more month, and then, when I see how much good it is doing her, I can't stop. It's a very powerful thing you know."
Salma Hayek
The news that Salma Hayek actually (gasp!) breastfed a sick baby in Sierra Leone while visiting in her capacity as UNICEF ambassador has caused quite a stir. Some women responded very positively, seeing her generosity for what it was, while others called her disloyal to her daughter (huh?) or simply said what she did was "so wrong."
But why does America care? It's my belief that we have a pervasive cultural misunderstanding that breastfeeding is somehow a sexual act, and that nursing another woman's child is akin to cheating on a lover. THis is a massive mistake and a huge disservice to babies. Interestingly, in many African cultures, it is not just a nice thing to do, it's expected -- although it's mostly within families. Anybody who is able to lactate and who does not feed a crying child is considered not doing the right thing. How different from our perspective! We seem to forget that nursing is within the natural order, we're literally built for it. And, our foremothers certainly employed the help of wet nurses if they were unable to produce enough for their babies.
So the question is, if you had the opportunity and the means, would you offer your milk to a starving baby? I would in a NY minute!
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