Wet nursing was a common way to care for babies before formula and feeding bottles were made. Also, a woman whose body naturally makes something can choose to use it in a strong and positive way. And this is similar to what Salma Hayek, the Frida actress and longtime advocate for women’s rights, did when she gave her milk to a baby of a total stranger who was malnourished and underweight.

Celebrities who dedicate themselves to charitable causes are always worthy of our praise. And here’s a touching story about a Hollywood actress that shows how sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a big difference.

In September 2008, actress and producer Salma Hayek traveled to Sierra Leone as a volunteer for an African humanitarian effort, not as a famous celebrity. She was making her way around the hospital when she came across a mother who was out of breast milk. Hayek, who already had a daughter who was one year old at the time, grabbed the underweight one-week-old son of a stranger and immediately started nursing him, despite the fact that there were many cameras around her.

She is trying to teach her daughter to be kind and generous as she grows up.

After the episode with the nursing, she acknowledged that she had conflicting thoughts about whether or not she had been unfaithful to her own kid by giving her milk away to another child. On the other hand, she afterwards had the idea that her daughter wouldn’t mind if she shared her milk, so she added, “I honestly believe my baby would be extremely pleased to be able to give her milk.” In addition to that, she said that when she is older, she would push her to maintain her character traits of being kind and generous. She went on to say with a beaming smile, “I believe that’s the nicest thing I can offer her as a mother.”

Hayek’s family is known for being kind and compassionate. 

Hayek also said that helping a child in this way was something that had been done for a long time in her family. In fact, in a Mexican village many years ago, her great-grandmother fed a stranger’s baby, who was hungry and crying nonstop, and the baby stopped crying right away.

Hayek said that one of the reasons she breastfed that stranger’s child was to try to get rid of the negative image of women who breastfeed. And by doing this kind thing, she sent a loud and clear message that women should be able to choose and not be afraid of their bodies.

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of nursing a kid who is not your own? Your feedback in the comments section would be much appreciated.