A new study from the 麻豆原创 found that although not a recommended practice, those who participate in milk-sharing networks generally follow good hygiene, which is critical for keeping milk free from bacterial contamination.

鈥淧eer milk sharing is a growing practice despite warnings from the FDA and the American Academy of Pediatrics,鈥� said Beatriz Reyes-Foster, lead author and an anthropology assistant professor. 鈥淥ur findings suggest that parents who engage in these networks are taking precautions to make sure their children don鈥檛 get sick and that鈥檚 not something we knew before this study. But there is room for improvement.鈥�

Reyes-Foster, sociology associate professor Shannon K. Carter and assistant professor Melanie Sberna Hinojosa, published their findings in this month鈥檚 edition of the Journal of Human Lactation.

The team of researchers surveyed 321 Central Florida peer milk-sharing parents who did not exchange money for milk. They asked:

The team found that 35.4 percent of recipients reported using all five safe practices and another 40.6 percent reported using at least four of the five. No recipient reported using only one or none of the safe practices. Results for donors were similar with nearly 80 percent confirming they sanitize pumps use to extract the milk.

The team also found that the behavior didn鈥檛 change even when sociodemographic characteristics did.

The research was conducted in 2014, before a Human Milk Banking Association of North America bank was established in Florida. This organization provides donors with milk-handling guidelines. The researchers suggest that the numbers may change now that the organization is in the state.

The researchers also warn that more study is needed and that the findings don鈥檛 extend to online classifieds where milk is exchanged for money. The prevalence of safety practices in those kinds of exchanges is unknown and deserves study, Reyes-Foster said.

According to a new study from the 麻豆原创, sharing breast milk is thriving today and in Central Florida it appears high income, highly educated white women are some of the people to most often use the Internet to facilitate the exchange.

Another surprise out of the study: Breast milk isn鈥檛 just being exchanged in containers.

鈥淚 was surprised by the high prevalence of overlap, where women who were donors were also recipients鈥� for their babies, said Beatriz Reyes-Foster a sociocultural anthropologist at 麻豆原创 and one of the authors of the study, which recently appeared in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine. 鈥淎nd many of them aren鈥檛 exchanging milk in containers, they鈥檙e cross-nursing.鈥�

Cross-nursing (directly breastfeeding someone else鈥檚 baby, often incorrectly referred to as wet-nursing, a professional service) seems to be a modern-day reality as well.

The popularity of breast milk may be linked to the growing number of research articles that indicate that . The children tend to be more resistant to disease early in life and less likely to contract several diseases later in life, including juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease and cancer before age 15. For women who can鈥檛 produce their own milk, sharing is an alternative.

And while there has been some concern raised in the medical community that the Internet is a dangerous way to exchange milk among strangers with little or no way to guarantee the quality or safety of the milk being exchanged, the 麻豆原创 study didn鈥檛 find the exchange among strangers something that routinely happens in Central Florida. They also found that the buying and selling of milk was rare.

鈥淭he idea that women are and having it shipped through the mail was not supported by our study,鈥� said Shannon K. Carter, assistant professor of sociology and co-author on the study. 鈥淭he medical community seems to have a perception that women are buying or obtaining breast milk from anyone who will provide it and that they can find on the Internet. We found milk sharing to be a much more complex process, involving friends, friends of friends, and hybrid online/offline communities.鈥�

The 麻豆原创 team, which also included assistant professor of sociology Melanie Sberna Hinojosa, circulated surveys through Facebook to 18 Central Florida parenting communities, the and web pages, personal web pages, and the web pages of 20 professional contacts. The study is based on the responses and analysis from 392 participants.

Most of the participants in the survey were college educated with 64 percent having earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree or higher. About 47 percent of participants had household incomes above $70,000 and most women said they were unemployed. The majority of women (70 percent) had one or two children and all but one respondent had been sharing breast milk since 2010.

Alison Serra, of Orange City, knew she wanted to breastfeed her daughter because of all the benefits, but her plans to do it on her own didn鈥檛 work out.

鈥淲hen I struggled to breastfeed my daughter myself, I knew that I had to pursue the next best option,鈥� said the former substitute teacher. 鈥淢ilk sharing eased the pain of not breastfeeding my daughter for as long as I had hoped. I just had to seek out that which I knew was best for my baby.鈥�

Serra, who participated in 麻豆原创鈥檚 study, was able to give her daughter Alaina breast milk from 2012 to 2014 thanks to an exchange network. Alaina is now three-years-old and Serra is expecting her second child. She said if needed, she would again turn to milk sharing.

鈥淚t was an incredibly positive experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he women who shared milk with my daughter were more than happy to do so and I am so grateful for each of them. This is the power of community and technology and love.鈥�

As for the safety concerns, Serra said research is important.

鈥淚 support milk sharing communities,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think research should focus on the safety of the practice, the unknown mechanisms at work in breast milk, and teaching safe handling and storage and donor screening.鈥�

There were family-leave workshops for those thinking about starting a family, but there was no grassroots network to help parents who might need a referral for a pediatrician or a good babysitter near campus. And there was no vehicle for discussing topics such as how to correct hundreds of essays while with a teething 1-year-old demanding attention.

She thought back to her days of graduate school in California and recalled the well-known Berkeley Parents Network, which was available to all university employees 聽with children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

鈥淚t was such a wonderful resource,鈥� Reyes-Foster said. 鈥淲hen I had my first child and arrived at 麻豆原创 I thought, why can鈥檛 we have something like that here.鈥�

The Berkeley Parents Network, started by a graduate student in 1993, offers university parents throughout the Bay Area 鈥� more than 32,000 鈥� a host or resources all through email and more recently through a website. Need a last minute babysitter, pediatrician referral or tips on managing your work and personal life? You can find all that on the network, and because many members are academics, there are often in-depth discussions about studies on paid family leave, child development and special education.

Never one to sit around waiting for things to happen, Reyes-Foster launched the 麻豆原创 Faculty Parents Network on Facebook in 2011 with the support of the 麻豆原创 Center for Success of Women Faculty.

The 麻豆原创 page currently has about 85 members that range from staff to full professors. It鈥檚 a closed group, which means people have to ask to be accepted, but being a faculty member or employee at 麻豆原创 is all that鈥檚 needed to gain entry.

The group is a mix of men and women, and the topics covered run the gamut, Reyes-Foster said. Just in the past four months the topics covered by participants have included: a new study on the impact of fluoride on neurological development in children, adjunct pay, declining birthrates, information on free theatre performances around town, and several giveaways of gently used baby furniture.

鈥淭his is a great resource,鈥� said Linda Walters, director of the 麻豆原创 Center for Success of Women Faculty. 鈥淭he page generates healthy discussion about a broad range of topics and also offers members a place to discuss sometimes sensitive topics with people who have gone through the same process and can provide valuable information.鈥�

Currently the network focuses on families with younger children, but Walters would love to see that be expanded to include middle school and high school issues.

Reyes-Foster last year also scheduled a few on-campus meetings based on topics of interest from the Facebook page and playdates for some of the members and their children on weekends.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a work in process, but I know the folks that are active on the page seem to really enjoy it,鈥� she said.

Walters said she hopes to see the page grow in popularity and that the interactions on the page will translate into real-world interactions, which helps build community.

鈥淭his is just the beginning and we鈥檙e very excited to have lots of people on board,鈥� Walters said.

Anyone who is on the 麻豆原创 faculty or staff and is interested in joining this group can search for 鈥溌槎乖� Faculty Parents Network鈥� on Facebook or contact Reyes-Foster at beatriz.reyes-foster@ucf.edu.”