Aunchalee Palmquist, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, and Kirsten Doehler, assistant professor of statistics, presented preliminary findings from Palmquists's study of milk sharing at the annual Breastfeeding and Feminism International Conference in Chapel Hill, N.C. in March.
[/caption]The conference is devoted to highlighting the sociocultural, political, economic, and health impacts of infant feeding choices. The presentation was based on analyses of online survey data and describes the sociodemographic characterics, lactation histories, and medical histories of milk sharing respondents as well as significant differences between these two groups. This research provides empirical evidence for the characteristics of milk sharing donors and recipients and points to some of the structural factors that may explain differences in breastfeeding outcomes between these groups. Palmquist and Doehler are currently preparing several manuscripts for publication based on this data.