A Matter of Milk - A Techno-Anthropological study of online milksharing in Denmark
Author
Nordsted, Signe Amalie Pålsson
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-10-17
Pages
67
Abstract
This techno-anthropology master’s thesis examines informal online breast milk sharing in Denmark, focusing on the Facebook group “Milkshare – Exchange of Breast Milk for Babies and Children” (the Milkshare group). In Denmark, breast milk and breastfeeding are highly valued, but there is no tradition of nursing other people’s children or privately sharing milk. Three Danish milk banks accept surplus milk from donors, test and pasteurize it, and primarily supply neonatal wards. Private purchase of donor milk is possible but expensive, so infant formula is typically recommended when breastfeeding cannot be maintained. Informal online milk sharing has emerged as a private alternative to formula. The phenomenon is relatively unknown in Denmark, with about 1,600 members in the Milkshare group, and no Danish scientific studies have previously examined it. The Danish Health Authority advises against the practice due to risks of bacterial contamination and residues of medicines in shared milk. The study uses ethnographic methods: online observations (limited by ethical considerations) and numerous interviews with group members, the group administrator, the dietitian and head of the Hvidovre Hospital milk bank, Anne Olin, and an employee of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. It also draws on news articles and materials from the Danish health system. The thesis is framed by feminist Science and Technology Studies (STS), including Donna Haraway’s concepts of feminist objectivity and situated knowledge, which emphasize that knowledge is produced from specific positions and perspectives. Her image of the world as tightly entangled knots is used to highlight interconnections. Karen Barad’s agential realism informs an understanding of phenomena as “intra-actions”—mutually formative relations between the material (bodies, milk) and the discursive (norms, language). Ericka Johnson’s analytical concept of “refraction” helps unpack how values and norms bend and change across different practices. Mary Douglas’s “matter out of place,” along with theories of gift exchange, reciprocity and kinship, illuminate issues of purity, risk and relationships in milk sharing. The analysis shows that the Milkshare group both aligns with and challenges norms in the Danish health system. The group affirms the idea that breast milk is best for infants—an advice usually meant for a mother’s own milk—and organizes sharing with practical routines that partly resemble milk bank procedures. At the same time, it challenges the view that infant formula is the only realistic alternative. Donors are not subject to formal lifestyle requirements or testing but are encouraged to be open about medication and habits, which differs from strict milk bank standards. Allowing milk that would not pass milk bank screening unsettles established ideals of purity and safety. Sharing relies on trust, which participants manage through various tools and agreements. Breast milk is described as a gift given altruistically, yet often inviting reciprocity, and the community formed around sharing is described as a sisterhood. Overall, the thesis concludes that online breast milk sharing in Denmark is a complex phenomenon that both draws on and contests prevailing norms of infant feeding. Its emergence on Facebook illustrates how technology enables new forms of community and care. Individual choices in milk sharing can also be read as an implicit critique of breastfeeding norms in the health system. The thesis does not pursue a political agenda, but argues for a more nuanced understanding of breastfeeding in Denmark.
Dette tekno-antropologiske kandidatspeciale undersøger uformel online deling af modermælk i Danmark, især i Facebook-gruppen “Milkshare – Udveksling af Modermælk til Babyer og Børn” (Milkshare-gruppen). I Danmark anses modermælk og amning som meget værdifuldt, men der er ikke tradition for at amme andres børn eller dele mælk privat. Der findes tre danske mælkebanker, hvor overskydende mælk testes, pasteuriseres og primært gives til neonatalafdelinger. Privatpersoner kan købe donormælk, men prisen gør det sjældent til et realistisk alternativ, og modermælkserstatning anbefales derfor, hvis amning ikke kan opretholdes. Uformel, online mælkedeling er opstået som et privat alternativ til erstatning. Fænomenet er relativt ukendt i Danmark, med omkring 1.600 medlemmer i Milkshare-gruppen, og der findes endnu ingen danske videnskabelige studier af det. Sundhedsstyrelsen fraråder praksissen på grund af risiko for bakteriel forurening og medicinrester i den mælk, der deles. Empirien er indsamlet med etnografiske metoder: online observationer (begrænset af etiske hensyn), talrige interviews med gruppemedlemmer, gruppens administrator, diætist og leder af mælkebanken på Hvidovre Hospital, Anne Olin, samt en medarbejder i Fødevarestyrelsen. Desuden inddrages avisartikler og informationsmateriale fra det danske sundhedssystem. Specialet er rammesat af feministisk STS (Science and Technology Studies), herunder Donna Haraways begreber om feministisk objektivitet og situeret viden, som fremhæver, at viden altid ses fra bestemte perspektiver og positioner. Her bruges også hendes billede af verden som tæt sammenfiltrede knudepunkter. Karen Barads agentielle realisme anvendes til at forstå fænomener som bestående af “intra-aktioner” – gensidigt formende relationer mellem det materielle (kroppe, mælk) og det diskursive (normer, sprog). Ericka Johnsons begreb “refraction” bruges som analytisk værktøj til at vise, hvordan værdier og normer brydes og ændres i mødet mellem forskellige praksisser. Mary Douglas’ “matter out of place”, samt teorier om gavegivning, reciprocitet og slægtskab, bruges til at belyse renhed, risiko og relationer i delingen. Analysen viser, at Milkshare-gruppen både læner sig op ad og udfordrer sundhedssystemets normer. Gruppen bekræfter idéen om, at modermælk er det bedste for barnet – en anbefaling, der normalt gælder mors egen mælk – og organiserer deling med praktiske procedurer, som delvist minder om mælkebankernes. Samtidig udfordrer gruppen forestillingen om, at modermælkserstatning er det eneste realistiske alternativ. Donorer møder ikke faste livsstilskrav eller tests, men opfordres til åbenhed om medicin og vaner, hvilket adskiller sig fra mælkebankens strenge krav. Når mælk, som ikke ville blive godkendt i en mælkebank, deles i gruppen, udfordres idealer om renhed og sikkerhed. Deling kræver tillid, og deltagerne navigerer dette gennem forskellige værktøjer og aftaler. Modermælk beskrives som en gave, der gives altruistisk, men som ofte kalder på gensidighed, og fællesskabet omkring delingen beskrives som et søsterskab. På baggrund af problemformuleringen og underspørgsmålene konkluderer specialet, at online modermælksdeling i Danmark er et komplekst fænomen, som både bygger på og udfordrer gældende normer for spædbarnsernæring. At fænomenet udfolder sig på Facebook viser, hvordan teknologi muliggør nye former for fællesskab og hjælpsomhed. Personlige valg i mælkedeling bliver samtidig et implicit kritikpunkt af de amningsnormer, som sundhedssystemet bygger på. Specialet forfølger ikke en politisk dagsorden, men argumenterer for en mere nuanceret forståelse af amning i Danmark.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords