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Milk sharing and formula feeding: Infant feeding risks in comparative perspective?
Karleen D Gribble1, Bernice L Hausman
1School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Western Sydney.
The Australasian Medical Journal
|August 1, 2012
Summary
Health authorities warn against peer-to-peer human milk sharing due to perceived risks. However, evidence suggests cultural bias, not research, drives these warnings, advocating for risk management guidance instead.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infant Nutrition
- Sociology
Background:
- Internet forums enable peer-to-peer human milk sharing.
- Health authorities issue warnings against human milk sharing, citing dangers.
- All infant feeding methods, including breastfeeding and formula, carry inherent risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the basis for official warnings against human milk sharing.
- To contrast the approach to human milk sharing with that of breastfeeding and formula feeding.
- To advocate for evidence-based risk management strategies over outright prohibition.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of official health authority statements.
- Comparative analysis of risk communication for different infant feeding methods.
- Examination of cultural factors influencing human milk sharing perceptions.
Main Results:
- Official warnings against human milk sharing appear culturally driven, not based on robust scientific evidence.
- Breastfeeding and infant formula, while having risks, are accompanied by risk management guidance, not prohibition.
- A cultural distaste for milk sharing, rather than empirical data, underpins current official stances.
Conclusions:
- Current health authority warnings against human milk sharing lack a strong evidence base.
- Regulating bodies should shift from proscribing milk sharing to researching and disseminating risk mitigation strategies.
- Promoting safe human milk sharing practices through informed guidance is a more appropriate approach than prohibition.
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