Self-Shared Milk Sharing: A Qualitative Research Study

The author, an associate professor of nursing and midwifery at Western Sydney University, developed a study to discover the reasons women involved in internet-facilitated peer-to-peer shared milk came to utilize it. Peer-to-peer milk sharing is the acceptance of breastmilk from a lactating woman in order to feed a child who is not her own in an informal manner. The study researches the question of why women would choose to use shared breastmilk to feed their children. Approval for this research study was granted through the University of Western Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee. Results that were obtained through this study can benefit the intended audience of healthcare professionals who care for and educate mothers who wish to supply …show more content…
The inclusion criteria required these women to have either donated or received milk through an internet-based exchange in the last six months. A descriptive survey design was used to obtain the responses. The sampled women were asked to answer 28 (mostly) open-ended questions in the form of an emailed questionnaire. This method of collection is appropriate for a qualitative research design. The findings of the study reveal that mothers chose peer-to-peer milk sharing because of their own inability to provide breastmilk. Most mothers state that they were unable to supply a sufficient amount of milk themselves. This could be due to the mother taking a medication that was incompatible with lactation, a medical condition such as breast cancer, or just lack of adequate supply to sustain the infant. The second most common response was that an infant medical issue prevented the mothers from breastfeeding. Prematurity was the third most common reason. Premature infants are often separated from their mothers or not yet able to suckle properly, preventing the mother from establishing a supply of milk all