Strangers step in to wet-nurse baby after mother falls ill

A mother has described her gratitude to five complete strangers who helped breastfeed her baby boy while she was treated in hospital.

Ronja Wiedenbeck, 26, put out an online appeal for mothers willing to wet nurse her 11-month-old baby Rio after she was left her unable to give her son her own milk.

The mother of two said she was reduced to tears by a massive response which saw nearly 1,000 women offer to help.

She got in contact with five different women who took it in turns to feed Rio during her hospital stay.

Ms Wiedenbeck said she had never previously considered wet nursing but had been desperate to find a solution for her young son after she was put on morphine in hospital in Truro, Cornwall.

It meant she was unable to safely breastfeed her son as she would have passed on the drug through her milk.

Although she had plenty of her own milk frozen, her son is not comfortable feeding from a cup.

Ms Wiedenbeck, who also has a six-year-old daughter, put out an appeal on the 'Breastfeeding Yummy Mummies' page on Facebook and got an instant response from women who were keen to help.

Among those who fed Rio during the week was Michelle Netherton, 28, who came to the rescue from nearby Truro.

The mother-of-three had never acted as a wet nurse before but said she immediately wanted to help.

A friend helped Ms Wiedenbeck sift through posts to find appropriate volunteer wet nurses.

All of those picked to help had previously undergone CRB checks and were accompanied by Ms Wiedenbeck or a trusted adult.

Family friends are now running a fundraising appeal aiming to cover the costs of the women who have been helping the family.

Ms Wiedenbeck also hopes her story will inspire other women to consider sharing their milk in times of need.

"People might feel it is unusual but wet nurses used to be much more common, and I hope I have shown other women that it is an option," she said.