An Argentine police officer who was praised for breastfeeding a crying and malnourished baby has been promoted. Celeste Ayala cared for the infant, which had reportedly been separated from its mother at the Sor María Ludovica children’s hospital on the outskirts of the country's capital Buenos Aires last week. A friend photographed the moment and posted it on Facebook last week, saluting Ms Ayala's "great gesture of love". The post was shared widely on social media. Cristian Ritondo, the security minister of Buenos Aires province, congratulated the officer, who is also said to be a volunteer firefighter. "We wanted to thank [her] in person for that gesture of spontaneous love that managed to calm the baby's cry", he tweeted, adding that her conduct epitomised "the police we're proud of, the police we want". Ms Ayala, who has a daughter aged 16 months, has now been promoted to sergeant. In an interview with the Cronica newspaper the officer said the baby, along with her siblings, had been separated from their parents, who were in poor health. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire.<doc-sep>A police officer in Argentina was reportedly promoted after a photo of her breast-feeding a neglected baby while in uniform went viral. The New York Times reported on Thursday that Celeste Ayala was among of team of police officers that took six siblings into state custody in a city near Buenos Aires earlier this month because they were in extremely poor condition. ADVERTISEMENT The youngest sibling, who was about seventh months old, continued to cry, which was when Ayala asked staff at the hospital if she could breast-feed the baby.<doc-sep>A policewoman in Argentina has been promoted after a photo of her breast-feeding a neglected baby at a hospital while in uniform went viral. The officer, Celeste Ayala, was among a team of officers who took six siblings into state custody in La Plata, a municipality near Buenos Aires, on Aug. 14, because they were in dismal condition at home. The youngest, who was about seven months old, was crying furiously. Ms. Ayala, who is breast-feeding a daughter 16 months old, said she sought permission from the hospital staff to breast-feed the baby. “I didn’t doubt it for a second,” she told the Argentine television show “Cronica.” “So I pulled out my breast and he became calm.”<doc-sep>An Argentine police officer is being praised for stepping up for a baby in need. Officer Celeste Ayala, a new mom, took it upon herself to breastfeed a malnourished infant while she was working a shift earlier this month in Buenos Aires. The 6-month-old baby was brought into a local hospital along with his siblings, and when the newborn wouldn’t stop crying, Ayala jumped into action, reports said. After getting permission from hospital staff, Ayala comforted and breastfed the infant. "I want to make public this great gesture of love that you made today with that baby, who you did not know, but for who you did not hesitate to act like a mother," said Marcos Heredia, who posted the image to Facebook. "Things like that are not seen every day." The picture has since gone viral and been shared more than 110,000 times. “Actions like that of this cadet fill us with pride and force us to redouble our efforts, work and solidarity with our community,” a local volunteer fire department wrote of Ayala on Facebook. Ayala was promoted from officer to sergeant as a result of her sweet actions. RELATED STORIES<doc-sep>
The cop, who is a mother of a 16-month-old daughter did not think twice before offering to breastfeed the wailing baby. (Source: @cristianritondo/ Twitter) The cop, who is a mother of a 16-month-old daughter did not think twice before offering to breastfeed the wailing baby. (Source: @cristianritondo/ Twitter) A police officer in Argentina won millions of hearts online after she was photographed breastfeeding a neglected infant in her uniform. A photo of Celeste Ayala breastfeeding the seven-month-old baby, who was rescued along with five other kids from their home, went viral last week. Now, after being hailed by netizens and fellow citizens, the officer has been promoted. Cristian Ritondo, the minister of security for the province of Buenos Aires, met the young officer who went beyond her call of duty to help the child and shared the news of her promotion. Hoy recibimos a Celeste, la oficial que amamantó a un bebé en el Hospital de Niños de #LaPlata para notificarle su ascenso. Queríamos agradecerle en persona ese gesto de amor espontáneo que logró calmar el llanto del bebé. La policía que nos enorgullece, la policía que queremos. pic.twitter.com/8aBp0Xj4Zj — Cristian Ritondo (@cristianritondo) August 17, 2018 Ayala was among a team of officers who took six siblings into state custody in a municipality near Buenos Aires as they were in a miserable condition in their home, The New York Times reported. When the police officials reached the hospital, the youngest among the children was wailing. Being the mother of 16-month-old daughter, Ayala quickly realised the infant was crying due to hunger. After seeking permission from the staff at the hospital, she sat there on a stall with the baby to feed it. “I didn’t doubt it for a second,” she told the Argentine television show Cronica. The photo of her nursing the baby went viral, after one of her colleagues uploaded the photo on Facebook and lauded her for the selfless act. Along with the photo, Heredia also said that the hospital staff called the baby “smelly and dirty”, but Ayala was not bothered by it. The news of her promotion was celebrated, and people said such appreciation and recognition would inspire others to help more. Reminds me of the ending of “The Grapes of Wrath” which offers hope to all of us. No matter how hard life is. No matter what happens to us, strength and love can sustain us. This infant, abandoned and dirty was taken into the arms of this young woman police officer & breastfed. https://t.co/iqftY8Nrd7 — Walt Cronin (@waltcronin) August 23, 2018 The humanity shown by officer Celeste- towards an innocent little child- is unfortunately rare in today’s world- but serves to restore our faith in humanity, and also highlights the many police officers out there who go beyond the call of duty every day. Celeste- we salute you! https://t.co/4JwZdRZYzQ — Shane McCarrick (@shanemccarrick) August 22, 2018 Love ❤️ love 💕 love 💗 this story so much. Especially now. Breast feed- anytime, anyplace and if a baby needs it- ANY baby. (Hey @GOP this is what you do AFTER you stop the abortion!) https://t.co/ld9TqsUjAn — Bayleigh (@_Bayleigh_) August 22, 2018 People being awesome. Police officer breastfed a struggling baby in the hospital. https://t.co/FYVKMYQQ1O — OneLPhil (@Philme01) August 21, 2018 When we see start to see humanity as human beings regardless of race, sex, gender, background, etc, kindness becomes an instinct. Thank you Officer Alaya for showing us what happens when we stop focusing on our differences and realize just how alike we all are. #CelesteAyala https://t.co/fxGTSRN1Kr — EYOB Foundation (@EYOBFoundation) August 21, 2018 #Argentina celebrates the natural business of breastfeeding! So much so: they promoted a selfless police officer for feeding a patient’s malnourished, hungry baby, while on duty. Instead of shaming her, men took photos and hailed her #HERO #CelesteAyala https://t.co/EGCpFtXE1W — PunkRockFarm (@PunkRockFarm) August 21, 2018 This is on duty police officer #CelesteAyala. She asked to look after a baby crying as overloaded staff in an Argentine hospital were unable to see to him. she then breastfed him like an absolute trooper. The power of woman. And the kindness of people #breastfeeding #police https://t.co/SW6nmor6S8 — Kerry Gooderson #FBPE (@Kerry_Gooderson) August 17, 2018 Share your thoughts about the gesture in comments below.