Female cop breastfeeds deserted child after mum stuffed her down sewer
After a newborn girl was rescued from a sewer, where her mother had allegedly tried to dispose of her during a dispute, a police officer answered an emergency call to breastfeed
Female cop with newborn baby she breastfed after it was found abandoned in a sewer in Ibirite, Minas Gerais, Brazil, on 19 February 2026(Image: Newsflash)
A heroic police officer has stepped in to breastfeed a tiny baby girl after the infant was dramatically rescued from a shocking ordeal involving her own parents. An extraordinary act of kindness came after the newborn was saved from a horrifying situation.
This is the woman police officer who answered an emergency appeal for a woman to breastfeed an infant rescued earlier after her mother was filmed trying to stuff her down a sewer.
The horrific attempt to get rid of the baby and the desperate search to find a volunteer to feed the child by a small local hospital that did not have infant milk powder happened in the town of Ibirite, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, on February 19.
According to the Military Police, a witness reported seeing the baby’s 22-year-old mother throwing the child into a street drain near a wooded area while arguing with the baby’s father, also 22. The witness intervened, rescued the infant and took her to the Cascata Basic Health Unit.
Medical staff found the girl dehydrated and hungry, with signs of sun exposure, a suspected urinary infection and injuries to her genital area. As the unit had no infant formula or feeding bottle available, doctors authorised emergency breastfeeding due to the baby’s condition.
Military police officer Helem Valerio, who had given birth nine months earlier and was still lactating, then went to the clinic and breastfed the child. The practice, known as cross-breastfeeding, is typically not recommended by the World Health Organization because of the risk of disease transmission, but was authorised by the medical team in this case due to the urgency.
Security camera footage shows the couple arguing in the street. The mother is seen placing the baby in a wooded area and walking away.
The father later picks up the child, but the woman takes her back.
Another camera recorded the moment the mother appeared to try to place the infant inside a sewer again, before a passerby not seen on camera stepped in to save the child.
The Civil Police said both parents, who were not named, were taken to a police station and arrested for mistreatment.
The mother will also answer for abandonment of a vulnerable person and after police procedures, the couple were transferred to the prison system.
The Child Protection Council was notified and accompanied the case.
The baby was treated and later referred to a shelter and the investigation is ongoing.
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