Anthrolactology

Hello and welcome to the first episode of Anthrolactology – a podcast about lactation from an anthropological perspective! Today your hosts are Dr. Aunchalee Palmquist, Assistant Professor Maternal and Child Health, Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dr. EA Quinn, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis.
This monthly podcast will consist of several segments on different topics – an interview with an anthropologist studying some aspect of lactation, a segment on new research in the broader world of lactation, a segment on new lactation technologies (such as pumps, milk testing kits, lactation supplements, etc.), and a segment we are calling “We tried this at home” where we or others talk about some aspect of lactation as a lived experience.

In this episode, we introduce EA’s research with a community of ethnic Tibetans living in Nepal and talk about how living in a high-altitude environment influences milk composition and some reasons why high-altitude populations may produce milk with a higher fat content. We also discuss at home breast milk composition testing kits and EA outlines future plans to actually compare them to lab analyses.
Click here for show notes!
Credits:
Artwork by Aunchalee Palmquist
Editorial Advisor: Owen Palmquist
Audio Editing by Vitaliy at makesomenoise on Fiverr
Title music, “Big Plans”, by Grace Mesa

In our third episode of Anthrolactology, host Dr. EA Quinn interviews co-host Dr. Cecilia Tomori about her research on co-sleeping/bedsharing and infant feeding practices in the United States. She also details her work on the history of infant feeding and medical advice about infant care. EA (and special guest star Brad Schneider) drinks (for science) and tests her breast milk, as well as some other assorted milks from her fridge.
Credits:
Artwork by Aunchalee Palmquist
Editorial Advisor: Owen Palmquist
Audio Editing by Vitaliy at makesomenoiseTitle music, “Big Plans”, by Grace Mesa
*Views expressed on the podcast are our own, and do not represent the views of our employers.

In our second episode of Anthrolactology, Dr. EA Quinn interviews Dr. Aunchalee Palmquist about her research on human milk sharing in the United States. EA rants about how bad direct-to-consumer milk volume home-test kits are, and the two cringe over the marketing of a new company that claims it can “take the breast out of breastmilk.”

Click here for show notes!
Credits:
Artwork by Aunchalee Palmquist
Editorial Advisor: Owen Palmquist
Audio Editing by Vitaliy at makesomenoiseTitle music, “Big Plans”, by Grace Mesa
*Views expressed on the podcast are our own, and do not represent the views of our employers.

In this episode of Anthrolactology, the team discusses lactation and human milk in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The episode was recorded in late May 2020. EA talks about the team’s ongoing COVID-19 feeding study, Aunchalee talks about her ongoing leadership work in COVID 19 feeding recommendations, and Cecilia discusses the important historical framework for understanding responses within feeding frameworks.
Credits:
Artwork by Aunchalee Palmquist
Editorial Advisor: Owen Palmquist
Audio Editing by Vitaliy at makesomenoiseTitle music, “Big Plans”, by Grace Mesa
*Views expressed on the podcast are our own, and do not represent the views of our employers.

This episode of Anthrolactology features Dr. Ifeyinwa Asiodu! She shares her story of getting into breastfeeding and human lactation research, her new M.I.L.K. lab, the importance of Black Breastfeeding Week, and the COVID-19 Birth Worker Relief Fund. Links are included at the end of the show notes!! (Note: this episode was recorded on August 31, 2020).