62% of Mothers Oppose Establishing Milk Banks, Citing Milk Kinship

A Saudi study found that most participating mothers oppose breast-milk banks, despite widespread agreement that breast milk offers important health benefits. The study, published by Taibah University in Medina in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Public Health on Sept. 3, 2026, surveyed 835 Saudi mothers from across the kingdom.

Overall, 62.3% of participants opposed establishing milk banks, compared with 37.7% who supported them. If their own milk supply proved insufficient, 74.01% said they would not give their premature babies milk from a bank. Only 25.99% said they would accept it.

The reluctance also extended to donation. Some 70.10% said they would not donate surplus breast milk to milk banks, while 29.90% were willing to do so. Nearly four in five participants, 79.16%, said they preferred infant formula to donated breast milk.

The findings did not reflect a lack of awareness about breastfeeding. A large majority, 94.13%, considered breast milk nutritionally superior to formula, and 95.22% said it strengthens a child’s immunity and reduces infections. The study recorded a clear connection between views on milk banks and the concept of milk kinship. Opposition reached 91.2% among mothers who considered milk banks impermissible because of kinship concerns, while support reached 86.7% among those who considered them permissible.