Milk Banks Through the Lens of Muslim Scholars: One Text in Two Contexts

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Human milk banking and milk kinship: perspectives of religious officers in a Muslim country

“…There are, however, some controversies over minor issues among different Muslim scholars regarding the absolute or relative contraindications, but Muslim scholars suggest that a woman's milk transmitted in any mode-suckling, bottle-feeding, pouring in the throat or in the nostrils-to the stomach of the baby institutes kinship, which bars marriage. 15 A significant number of the participants (95%) in our study were in favor of breastfeeding from any woman other than the baby's mother being permissible, and 0.5% argued that it should be forbidden. A large number of religious officers (89.5%) thought that breastfeeding of an infant by means of suckling from some other woman makes that woman the wet mother of the breastfed infant.…”

Peer-to-Peer Milk Donors' and Recipients' Experiences and Perceptions of Donor Milk Banks

“…Maintenance of anonymity also protects recipients from claims by donors, whether this is likely to be an issue in milk donation is unknown. However, not all institution‐facilitated milk banking preserves anonymity (e.g., Ghaly, ; Hsu et al, ) and investigating how such models manage these issues is warranted.…”

“…However, the consumption of breast milk creates a familial relationship (milk kinship) between the woman and child and care must be taken to avoid consanguineous marriages (Parkes, ). Some Muslims consider that the feeding of banked donor milk to hospitalized infants does not create a milk kinship relationship (Ghaly, ). However, no Muslim country has a traditional milk bank (El‐Khuffash & Unger, ).…”

“…Although traditional milk banking may be unacceptable to many Muslims, changes in the process may make it permissible. The Duchess of Kent Hospital in Malaysia and Adan Hospital in Kuwait provide a modified milk‐banking process in their NICUs whereby milk is not pooled and donor and recipient are introduced to one another (Ghaly, ; Hsu et al, ). This is effectively a regulated form of peer‐to‐peer milk sharing.…”

The Concept of Milk Kinship in Islam

“…9 In addition, the proceedings of the ECFR meeting discussing this issue are archived. 10 The authors of this article have developed an information leaflet in both English and Arabic that is provided to Muslim families when information on DHM is given by medical staff in our local institutions.…”