母奶哺餵在現今的社會脈絡下，為婦幼衛生政策的主流價值及推廣的方向之一。但過去的相關論述與研究，認為現代媽媽對於母奶的相關知識不足，或者為了怕麻煩、怕身材變形等因素，「選擇」了配方奶粉來替代母乳，因此才會令國內的母奶哺餵率偏低。但是事實果真如此單純嗎？本研究主要目的是想挑戰哺餵母奶是女人的天職，並進一步探究是什麼樣的社會機制令母親做出餵與不餵母奶的選擇？同時這樣的機制隱藏著什麼性別、科技與社會的意涵？本論文採取質性研究的方法，訪談對象以哺乳母奶的媽媽為主，並包括婦產科醫師、婦產科護士、商店經理與母奶會諮商師，並對相關的母奶論述加以分析，所得的結果大致歸納如下：母親們選擇做與不做這份母奶哺餵工作，其實是受整個母奶科技行動者網絡所影響，這個網絡中「人」的部分包括嬰兒、先生、公婆、醫護專家等，而「非人」行動者包括奶瓶、奶粉、背巾等技術物與科學育兒論述政策等。此行動者網絡不斷地召集各個專業與奶粉商等加入同盟，讓母奶哺餵技術得以延續與擴展。母奶行動者網絡中的各個行動者雖互為影響，卻不必然是對等的關係。現代媽媽在哺餵工作上的確承受許多壓力。暫且不論母奶是不是最好的，若政府認為母奶哺餵是必須推行的政策，應該從母乳科技行動者網絡來思考，並對整個網絡的結構與關係做許多的調整與改變，如哺乳技術物、空間、還有人際性別關係的調整，而哺乳政策不應該如國健局的推廣文宣廣告所言，只將焦點加諸在母親的愛心與耐心上，以及父親的口頭支持上。

Breastfeeding is promoted as a vital policy for improving the health of children. It seems to be the natural duty for mothers. The blame for the low breastfeeding rate falls on mothers who are treated as lacking of the knowledge of breastfeeding, being lazy about troubled the froublesome procedures, or being worried about figures reshaping etc. sothey ‘choose’ infant formula instead. In the study, we would question such simplistic explanations.The aims of this study are to challenge the myth that breastfeeding is the natural duty for mothers. It will further explore what mechanism makes mothers choose breastfeeding or not to do it, and what gender-techno-social relations enabled the operation of themechanism?
The study adopts qualitative research methods, mainly relying on
interviews. The informants are the breastfeeding mothers; obstetrician and the obstetrician nurses, the store manager and the members of La Leche League-Taiwan. The mainstream discourses related to breastfeeding are also analyzed. The findings of the study are as follows:A mother who chooses to do it or not is actually affected by the actor- network of
breastfeeding. The actor-network are composed of the human actors, such as babies,husbands, parents-in-law, and medical professionals, and non-human actors, such as policies,discourses, and the technical products such as milk bottles, milk powder, baby carriers. To continue and expand breastfeeding actor -network, it constantly includes various professions
and milk powder merchants. Although each of the actors in the actor -network of breastfeeding influences one another, their relations are not necessarily equal.According to the study, mothers bear lots of stress to do the job of breastfeeding well. If the government believes that breastfeeding is an important policy and must be promoted, it has
to take its actor -network into account. It should change many aspects, for example, the breastfeeding technical products, breastfeeding space, the gender relations as well as the focus of the policy which should not lie only on the love and patience of mothers, and the verbal support from the father as the National Health Bureau suggests.