Police Officer Breast-Feeds Nine Babies After Earthquake

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-05-22 06:34pm

JIANGYOU, China (CNN) -- A Chinese policewoman is being hailed as a hero after taking it upon herself to breast-feed several infants who were separated from their mothers or orphaned by China's devastating earthquake.

Police officer Jiang Xiaojuan, 29, was feeding nine babies at one point.

Officer Jiang Xiaojuan, 29, the mother of a 6-month-old boy, responded to the call of duty and the instincts of motherhood when the magnitude 7.9 quake struck on May 12.

"I am breast-feeding, so I can feed babies. I didn't think of it much," she said. "It is a mother's reaction, and a basic duty as a police officer to help."

The death toll in the earthquake jumped Thursday to more than 51,000, and more than 29,000 are missing, according to government figures. Thousands of children have been orphaned; many others have mothers who simply can't feed them.

At one point, Jiang was feeding nine babies.

"Some of the moms were injured, their fathers were dead ... five of them were orphans. They've gone away to an orphanage now," she said. Video Watch the officer care for babies »

She still feeds two babies, including Zhao Lyuyang, son of a woman who survived the quake but whose breast milk stopped flowing because of the traumatic conditions.

"We walked out of the mountains for a long time. I hadn't eaten in days when I got here and my milk was not enough," said that mother, Zhao Zong Jun. "She saved my baby. I thank her so much, I can't express how I feel."

Liu Rong, another mother whose breast milk stopped in the trauma, was awed by Jiang's kindness.

"I am so touched because she has her own baby, but she fed the disaster babies first," Liu said. "If she hadn't fed my son he wouldn't have had enough to eat."

Jiang has became a celebrity, followed by local media and proclaimed on a newspaper front page as "China's Mother No. 1."

She's embarrassed by the fuss.

"I think what I did was normal," she said. "In a quake zone, many people do things for others. This was a small thing, not worth mentioning." See the quake zone »

There has been a huge outpouring of support from families who want to adopt babies orphaned by the quake. But that process takes time and there are mouths to feed.
advertisement

Jiang misses her own son, who's being cared for through the emergency by in-laws in another town, but she is aware of the new connections she's made.

"I feel about these kids I fed just like my own. I have a special feeling for them. They are babies in a disaster."

Anguirus · Post by **Anguirus** » 2008-05-22 06:44pm

Can't imagine that happening in the U.S., what with various hang-ups, but you're right, it's a great story and it's a damn good thing she was able to do that.

(So essentially she was feeding ten kids, when you count her own? Must have been on a fairly high-calorie diet!)

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-05-22 06:49pm

Well, I get the sense that some of these kids she didn't have for great lengths of time. Women's bodies will often respond to frequent and demanding breast-feeding by producing more milk. Under the circumstances she wouldn't necessarily be feeding each kid until full, but rather enough to keep them going until other arrangements could be made. One reason babies have a relatively high bodyfat percentage is to enable them to survive disasters and short periods of low/no food intake.

But yeah, some serious caloric expenditure and she'd also need a lot of fluid intake, too.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2008-05-22 08:58pm

I didn't realize one pair of breasts could produce that much milk.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-05-22 09:28pm

There's quite a bit of variability in how much milk a woman can produce - this woman is probably above average.

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-05-23 04:36am

Would it kill them to give us a better view of her miracle mammaries, than constantly obscuring them with her uniform?

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2008-05-23 05:41am

Now that is a patriotic hero of the people! Socialism with milk! Truly selfless and stuff.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-05-23 05:50am

In Communist China, the State breast feeds YOU?

This lady is damned awesome in my book and I hope she gets a big shiny medal and a promotion.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2008-05-23 10:22am

All kidding over breasts aside, this is a story that gladdens my heart.
Not all people are totally selfish assholes and this policewoman proves it.

Anguirus · Post by **Anguirus** » 2008-05-23 11:08am

KlavoHunter wrote:Would it kill them to give us a better view of her miracle mammaries, than constantly obscuring them with her uniform?

I can't believe it took six posts to get to this point.

Superman · Post by **Superman** » 2008-05-23 11:15am

Anguirus wrote:
KlavoHunter wrote:Would it kill them to give us a better view of her miracle mammaries, than constantly obscuring them with her uniform?
I can't believe it took six posts to get to this point.

Yeah, but I was thinking it after I read the title.

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-05-23 02:04pm

Anguirus wrote:
I can't believe it took six posts to get to this point.

I couldn't let it go on for one post longer!