New breast friends: Why five strangers breastfed one mom's son

It's amazing how the parenting community rallies together—even for complete strangers.

When 26-year-old Ronja Wiedenbeck was rushed to the hospital last Sunday due to extreme pain caused by ovarian cysts, she was given pain medication that prevented her from breastfeeding her son. Rio, 11 months, refuses to take bottles or formula. Bedridden, the single mom of two turned to her Facebook mom's group and asked for volunteers to breastfeed her tot.

The result? About 1,000 moms volunteered! Ronja picked five of them to help her out. One of the volunteers, Leigh Ann Fearn, even came to the hospital about an hour after she had messaged Ronja.

Today was a very special,and heartwarming day for me.I was rushed to hospital via ambulance at 6am with another ovarian cyst the size of a tennis ball.I was pumped full of Morphine and other drugs not deemed safe in breastfeeding. Poor Rio really needed feeding and we did not have any expressed Milk with us at the hospital. I wrote a call for help on a Breastfeeding support page I am part of and asked if there was possibly anyone nearby who would nurse my son for me, as I feel so strongly about not advocating formula use for any circumstance unless there really is no other option. This absolute Angel, who I have never met, let alone spoken to came to our rescue, and she was a total Diamond. She fed my son, in the most natural way, and Rio was calm and content. This means so so much to me. The support I have received has been so incredible, and it's so admirable the way us breastfeeding mums support each other and help each other out in situations when really needed. I never thought I would have someone else nurse my baby as this has always been something so special between just him and me, but in this moment it seemed the most natural and instinctual thing to do. I can't even explain in words how it made me feel knowing my son trusted this Beautiful caring Lady, and latched with no problems. Rio looked at me almost as though he was asking for permission, which I gave, and he fed and it was one of the most special moments for me. No doubt I will continue to speak to this wonderful woman, and hopefully this will be the start of an amazing friendship. Wet nursing may not be for everyone and I'm sure there will be a lot of opinions on this in terms of background checks and health checks, but I had full trust in this genuinely caring woman, and I will be forever indebted to her.I can not thank her enough for nourishing my baby boy,and I will be forever greatful. #normalisebreastfeeding #wetnurse #wetnursing #breastisbest #lactation #lactivist #nursingisnurturing #breastfeed #breastfeeding #crunchy #crunchymama #attachmentparenting #beautiful #bond #iwillneverforget #babyboy #babylove #baby #nursing #special #natural #instinct #instinctual #mother

A photo posted by Ronja Wiedenbeck (@rbw1989) on Apr 3, 2016 at 1:46pm PDT

And of course, the whole event was captured on Instagram! Each picture shows Rio happily feeding with his new friends.

"The support I have received has been so incredible, and it's so admirable the way us breastfeeding mums support each other and help each other out in situations when really needed. I never thought I would have someone else nurse my baby as this has always been something so special between just him and me, but in this moment it seemed the most natural and instinctual thing to do," Ronja wrote on Instagram.

Ronja shared her story and all the photos in hopes that it would help normalize sharing breast milk.

"Some people may still find this controversial or unbelievably enough think it's perverse or disgusting...I just couldn't wait to post another photo and educate you lot that this is a totally normal natural thing to do!"

We're so happy little Rio and mum were able to get an extra hand from the breastfeeding community.

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