On Family, Fieldwork, and Liquid Gold

In this essay, I story my discovery of breastmilk markets and my subsequent fieldwork and research program in the milk banking industry. I discuss how my experience growing up as the oldest of six children and daughter of a Labor and Delivery nurse foregrounded my curiosity and commitment to the organization of donor milk. I then use concrete research poetry to convey the political conditions that gave rise to this industry. In response, I reflect on the contrast between my childfree identity and the lived circumstances of milk donors/recipients by pondering the shared consequences of pronatalist and disciplinary discourses. Finally, I note the importance of community knowledge of milk banking (regardless of parental status) and offer questions to inspire further research in health communication.