The video features a report about Jiang Xiaojuan, a Chinese police officer who also is the nursing mother of a 6-month old son. Called into emergency duty after the earthquake in Sichuan Province, she soon became aware that among the displaced multitude were several starving infants. Some of the babies were orphans; others had mothers too injured to breastfeed them or whose milk supply had ceased after the trauma of the quake and a prolonged lack of food. So, she decided to breastfeed these infants -- at one point as many as nine of them -- and provide them with nourishment without which they might have died.
This story resonated with me on several levels. First, as a mother who breastfed both of my children, I was moved thinking about the powerful bond that has been forged between this woman and the infants she fed. Honestly, it gives me chills just thinking about it. Second, as a criminologist I was intrigued to hear Xaiojuan remark that by feeding these babies she was merely fulfilling her duty as a police officer:
"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."While she may feel this way, I wonder how many officers (male or female) would agree with her. Myself, I think what she did is pretty extraordinary, and definitely qualifies as going beyond the call of duty. What is more, her heroism (heroine-ism?) certainly ought to silence any remaining critics who would question women's participation in law enforcement. I'd like to see a male police officer breastfeed nine infants!!
P.S. Here is the print version of the story from CNN.com, and a here is a similar report from Reuters. Although the Reuters headline refers to Xaiojuan as a "wet nurse" rather than as a police officer. For some reason, that bugs me.
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