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Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

post #1 of 16
2/12/09 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
Salma Hayek was so taken aback by the plight of an African woman in Sierra Leone who was unable to breastfeed her child that the star breastfed the newborn herself.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment...2-7485,00.html

This story is apparently causing a lot of controversy and people are calling her irresponsible or saying it was a publicity stunt.
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post #2 of 16
2/12/09 at 11:01am

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

I dunno...we obviously aren't getting the who story. If the baby was starving would it not take a bottle? Were there bottles available? If so then she could have volunteered her frozen breastmilk. On the other hand if the baby was in distress etc I would have asked the Mother if she would like me to do the same thing. Just depends on the entire situation I guess.
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post #3 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:05pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

This used to be a common as dishwater in the days before formula. It's some big shocking thing now, but 150-200 years ago, rich women had wet nurses all the time. African nations have an enormous problem with clean water. The first page of this article on ABC news was on the wet nurse thing, the other three pages where dedicated to the reason why she was in Seirra Leone which was to promote education about tetnus which is a major killer of babies there. It goes into all the ways babies and mothers get tetnus. It also says how minutes before this, she saw a week old baby die from tetnus. Mother's milk carries the mother's immunity to tetnus. Maybe she was moved to do this, because she just saw a baby die right in front of her eyes and she thought, "my milk can save this baby." I don't know why she did it, but I think she was only trying to help. I don't know what I would have done if I saw a baby die minutes before, and here's this other baby dying and perhaps no safe water to use for formula. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing.
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post #4 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:16pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

This is the ABC news article that goes into detail on why she was in Seirra Leone as an ambassador to promote education and provide vaccines for tetnus.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/...6854285&page=1

If it was a pubilicity stunt (which I don't think it was), it was aimed at showing African men and women a breastfeeding mother can still be sexy and appealling when she is not breastfeeding, because in these African nations, the men refuse to have intimate relations with their wives during the period they are breastfeeding. Here in the US, our water is clean. We don't have to fear it is contaminated with maleria or who knows what. When I was in Egypt, I was told the water in the Nile was so full of diseases not to even let it splash on me. This is the kind of water they have over there to make formula with. Here babies will do just fine on either formula or breastmilk. There, it's breastfeed or feed your baby sewer water in a lot of places.
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post #5 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:17pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

I would do it no questions asked. I would ask the mother first if possible. But I agree, we don't have the whole story. Are we talking itty bitty infant or twelve month old? WHy couldn't the mother fed the baby herself?

And instead of stress over breastfeeding a baby, why not stress what can be done so that babies stop dieing?
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post #6 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:21pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

Liz, I have dial-up and it would take me all day to watch a clip DOes it help with the story? How big was the baby?
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post #7 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:24pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

I just saw the clip... hum.
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post #8 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:25pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

Too true, Jennifer! Some woman gives birth to eight babies there is no way she can take care of using clinical means, and people are getting on Salma (who seems to be a good mother) for trying to save one? This baby was a year old. However, it was sevrelly malnurished. It could have been very, very small and weak for it's age. One woman in China is a hero and gets a medal for breastfeeding nine babies after that horrible earthquake. Salma nurses one baby and she's a freak.
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post #9 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:36pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

It was an itty bitty baby. I saw it on the news this morning.
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post #10 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:38pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

I love this quote ...
"her left breast has now done more for humanity in a few minutes than I've done in roughly my life."
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post #11 of 16
2/12/09 at 12:43pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

I fail to see what the problem is. I think she did a great thing. And whos business is it, anyway? She helped that mother and child. If the mother didn't have a problem with it, no one else shoudl either
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post #12 of 16
2/12/09 at 2:00pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

yea it was a little baby, he/she needed the milk ^_^
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post #13 of 16
2/12/09 at 2:05pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

He was a year old, but malnurished babies don't get very big at all. One of dh's professors adopted a child from a third world country who was sevrely malnurished. Not as malnurished as this one, but he was 8 months old and smaller than a 4 month old. The good news is with good nutrition, he caught up in size with his age mates in a few months. The baby in the article may have been so malnurished, he could not handle formula. In a few days though, he should be much better.
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post #14 of 16
2/12/09 at 2:08pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

good!
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post #15 of 16
2/12/09 at 2:12pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaggie View Post
I fail to see what the problem is. I think she did a great thing. And whos business is it, anyway? She helped that mother and child. If the mother didn't have a problem with it, no one else shoudl either
Totally agree!
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post #16 of 16
2/12/09 at 2:17pm

Re: Salma Hayek breastfeeds African Baby

Y'all should have seen Matthew. In a few months, he went from this tiny, sick, little baby to Mr. Chubby. I'm sure with good nutrition (no matter how he receives it) this baby will be up and walking and chubby just like his agemates as well. Since the mother was already at a clinic getting help for her son and he has been on the international media, I have high hopes he will get the help he needs and fully recover.
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