Young woman breastfeeds abandoned baby, praised as 'most kindhearted mother'

A young woman gentlely cradles an abandoned baby in her arms and breastfeeds her on on Shiji Avenue in Xianyang, Shaanxi province on May 11, 2016. [Photo/Weibo.com]

On the morning of May 11, a baby was heard crying in a storage box on Shiji Avenue in Xianyang, a city in northwestern China's Shaaxi province. The baby girl in the box had been wrapped in bedding and was left with half a bag of milk powder and 100 yuan. She appeared to be in good health.

Passersby soon gathered around the baby girl. Some tried to shield her from the sun, while others went to fetch water for her, according to one witness who works near the spot where the baby was found. The baby kept crying, which most people guessed was because she was hungry. It wasn’t until a young woman gentlely cradled the baby in her arms, sat down and began to breastfeed her that she started to calm down.

By the time police came to the scene, the infant was quietly lying in the young mother's arms. Some passersby left donations for the baby, who appeared to be just three or four days old. Eventually the infant was brought to a local welfare center for children. She seems to have been abandoned by her parents, but a formal investigation is underway.

After further examination, it was declared that the girl might have cerebral palsy, though further medical attention will be needed to confirm the diagnosis, according to the welfare center.

A baby is heard crying in a storage box on Shiji Avenue in Xianyang, a city in northwestern China's Shaaxi province, on May 11, 2016. [Photo/Weibo.com]