Creative breastfeeding hack: British father tricks baby with mommy mask

Eleven-month-old Celine from London knows exactly what she wants: to be breastfed by her mother. And she wants it exclusively. The little girl stubbornly refuses to drink her mother's milk - an issue familiar to many parents of breastfeeding children.

But Celine's father Irvin Mavromara manages to outsmart his little girl thanks to a hack he finds on the web, according to the BritishDaily Mail. He prints out a picture of his wife, puts it on his face as a mask, cuts a hole in his T-shirt and attaches the bottle to his chest. It works: his daughter actually drinks from it with relish, as he demonstrates in a short video.

Video clip goes viral

Mother Rania records the bizarre scene with a smile. "I thought it was hilarious," she is quoted as saying. Now the family is causing laughs around the world with the clip - the video has gone viral since it was published at the end of January, with media reporting on it.

All just fake? Or just a stroke of luck? Not necessarily. "It can definitely work," says lactation consultant Annette Saloma of La Leche League (LLL) Switzerland. Still, she says, the clip should be taken with a grain of salt - because little is known about the background. "I don't think the child is only drinking thanks to the mask," the expert says. "Maybe it was just very hungry and that's why it gave in." Mommy photo or not.

The child probably already checks that it is not its mother, says Annette Saloma further. Factors such as smell and voice play a major role in breastfeeding. "That's why we advise against imitating the mother in breastfeeding counseling."

Big topic, many possibilities

According to the expert, there are many other options if the child refuses the bottle. Giving the milk in a cup, for example, with a spoon or syringe. Because of possible suction confusion or bottle preference, she advises against practicing drinking from a baby bottle. You have to be patient, she says, and not let yourself get stressed. "Children refusing the bottle is not uncommon and is a big issue. But you shouldn't make it a problem."

Because most of the time, when the mother is out of the house, it suddenly works out. "No child has ever starved to death while in out-of-home care." In any case, the British family's breastfeeding trick is not recommended in their eyes. Even if it is quite creative.