Policy Statement: Mental Well-being among Anthropologists at Universities: A Call for System Transformation.

The Anthropology of Mental Health Interest Group affirms that the state of mental health in Academic Anthropology needs serious attention and transformation. We respond to structural inequities in academia that exacerbate mental distress among graduate students and other anthropologists who experience oppression, by putting forward a policy statement with recommendations to create more equitable learning and working environments.

Human Milk Handling and Storage Practices Among Peer Milk-Sharing Mothers.

BACKGROUND: Peer milk sharing, the noncommercial sharing of human milk from one parent or caretaker directly to another for the purposes of feeding a child, appears to be an increasing infant-feeding practice. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning against the practice, little is known about how people who share human milk handle and store milk and whether these practices are consistent with clinical safety protocols. Research aim: This study aimed to learn about the milk-handling practices of expressed human milk by milk-sharing donors and recipient caretakers. In this article, we explore the degree to which donors and recipients adhere to the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine clinical recommendations for safe handling and storage. METHODS: Online surveys were collected from 321 parents engaged in peer milk sharing. Univariate descriptive statistics were used to describe the safe handling and storage procedures for milk donors and recipients. A two-sample t-test was used to compare safety items common to each group. Multivariate ordinary least squares regression analysis was used to examine sociodemographic correlates of milk safety practices within the sample group. RESULTS: Findings indicate that respondents engaged in peer milk sharing report predominantly positive safety practices. Multivariate analysis did not reveal any relationship between safety practices and sociodemographic characteristics. The number of safe practices did not differ between donors and recipients. CONCLUSION: Parents and caretakers who participate in peer human milk sharing report engaging in practices that should reduce risk of bacterial contamination of expressed peer shared milk. More research on this particular population is recommended.

Milk sharing in practice: a descriptive analysis of peer breastmilk sharing.

Peer breastmilk sharing has emerged in recent years as a subject of investigation and occasional controversy. Although researchers know that thousands of milk exchanges are facilitated through milk sharing Web sites every week, there is only limited research into milk sharing practices on the ground. This study examines these practices through a 102-item online survey that asked questions about milk sharing practices, perceptions of milk sharing, and demographic characteristics. Participants were recruited through social media sites specific to breastfeeding and parenting events in Central Florida. The sample consisted of 392 respondents. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis. We found that breastmilk sharing is a complex practice, showing high levels of overlap in which some donors are also recipients, and that cross-nursing sometimes occurs simultaneously with the exchange of expressed milk. Respondents often donated and received milk from people they knew; however, exchanging milk with strangers was also common. Many but not all used the Internet to facilitate milk exchange; participants used well-known milk sharing Web sites as well as their private virtual networks. The study found that most milk exchanges happen in-person as gifts and that selling and shipping breastmilk were rare. We suggest that further research is needed on breastmilk sharing practices to inform breastmilk safety research and policy recommendations.