Tuesday, November 6, started out as just another day for flight attendant Patrisha Organo, 24, on a Philippine Airlines flight. Except that everything changed when she heard a passenger's baby on the flight, cry. She knew immediately what she had to do. In an act of absolute kindness, the flight attendant breastfed the hungry little one without a second thought.
Flight attendant Breastfed Hungry Baby And We Are Melting!
We've all been there. You're on a flight/bus/train with your tired, hungry baby. Soon, he starts wailing that unmistakable "hangry" cry and nothing can calm him down... except milk. It's even more distressing when you're stuck in a plane and you can't even get off.
This is what one mommy would have felt when on that Philippine Airlines flight with her crying baby. When she saw Patrisha approaching her, perhaps she thought the flight attendant was going to ask her to make her baby stop crying. Little did she know that Patrisha was anxious to help, being a mother herself.
In a Facebook post that has now gone viral, Patrisha describes what happened.
Just after take-off, she heard the unmistakable sound of an infant crying—"a cry that will make you want to do anything to help."
The flight attendant went up to the mum and asked her if everything was okay. She realized that the baby was crying out of hunger. So Patrisha told the mom to feed her hungry baby. But it turned out that she had run out of formula milk.
By now, the baby was wailing so loudly that "passengers started looking and staring at the tiny, fragile crying infant." Patrisha says, "I felt a pinch in my heart. There’s no formula milk onboard. I thought to myself, there’s only one thing I could offer and that’s my own milk. And so I offered."
And so, the kind flight attendant breastfed a complete stranger's baby.
The Line Administrator on the flight brought the mom to the galley where Patrisha nursed the little one. "I saw the relief on her mother’s eyes. I continued to feed the baby until she fell asleep . I escorted her back to her seat and just before I left, the mother sincerely thanked me," she describes.
Patrisha ends her post with these words: "I breastfed a stranger’s baby inflight. Thank you, Lord for the gift of mother’s milk."
We Need More Breastfeeding Champions Like Patrisha!
Most stories involving breastfeeding a baby while flying do not have a happy ending. The same goes for moms who breastfeed in public. Most of the time, such moms are rudely told to cover up or move to a washroom or some other inappropriate place if they wish to nurse in the open.
This is mostly due to how much breastfeeding has been sexualized and therefore stigmatized. So many people see it as an act that should be done in private. They have forgotten that the primary role of breasts is to nourish and nurture babies.
Because this attitude is so prevalent in society (more so in the West), many moms are hesitant to breastfeed in public. So they they don't. Or they cover up. Or hide in a washroom.
That's why Patrisha's story is so inspiring. By breastfeeding the crying infant without even thinking twice about it, she's showing the world just what a natural act it is. And the world is reacting positively:
- Lovely gesture. Not all heroes wear capes [sic]!
- Beautiful! You are amazing!
- Good for you young lady, I congratulate you for your thoughtfulness.
The comments just keep rolling in - over 4,500 of them and counting.
What Patrisha did however, is not just a win for breastfeeding moms. It's a win for all moms in a world where we are quick to judge each other—even if they are other parents.
She never judged the mummy of the crying baby for not bringing enough formula. Neither did she question her choice of giving formula to her child. Patrisha just helped a fellow mum in the only way she could. By breastfeeding. And with no judgment.
As one netizen neatly sums it up:
Love this story, not the mom's fault. One mom helping another. People are too quick to question another's judgement. We need to stop questioning judgement and start questioning ourselves on how far we will go to help and stand up for another mom/person
Here at theAsianparent, we thank Patrisha for her kind deed that most certainly helped ease the mind of a stressed mummy and calm a hungry baby. Respect!
Also read: 5 accessible family travel destinations on a budget!
