The benefits of breast-feeding, including rich nutrients that can't be found in any commercial formula, are well known, but some moms can't breast-feed, and new research from the University of Central Florida shows where those women are turning for help.

For Chelsea Bossory, breast-feeding wasn't an issue. Now, she donates her milk, pumping 10–15 ounces a day on the side.

"That's the liquid gold," said Bossory. "I can, so why wouldn't I? You know, I have a lot of milk."

"A lot of moms just really want that for their kids, and for whatever reason, they can't supply all of it, or any of it," Bossory explained. "That's where we come in."

Donating requires a lot of work, including washing and sterilizing equipment. After Bossory pumps, she bags her milk in 2.5- to 3-ounce increments, laying them flat in her freezer.

"I have a tiny freezer so, so I'm constantly like, somebody come and get this milk. I'm running out of room," Bossory said.

Bossory donates through Get PUMPed, an Orlando-based nonprofit organization. The "PUMP" in "Get PUMPed" stands for Providing Urgent Milk to Parents.

Donors take annual blood tests, give milk, and the group facilitates the exchange.

But a new UCF study seeking to find exactly what women were actually doing when they shared milk found it was more complicated than most think.

"Medical literature is really misportraying what women are actually doing," said Dr. Shannon Carter, a researcher and assistant professor of sociology at UCF.

The study found women are forming hybrid communities — ones they're already a part of, like breast-feeding support groups.

"They're groups that meet in person, and then they also have an online component, and that's really the first place women are going if they don't have an immediate friend who can provide them with milk," Carter explained.

The UCF study also found out what women were not doing to get milk. According to Carter, "They're not buying milk from strangers online and having it shipped through the mail."

While places like milk banks, such as the recently opened Mother's Milk Bank of Florida in Orlando, play an important role, they only collect for the neediest babies in hospitals.

That's where nonprofits like Get PUMPed, or peer-to-peer sharing groups like Eats on Feets come in, and women like Bossory who have milk to spare.

"It's something I only get to do for a very small period of time, but it makes a huge difference in a lot of lives," Bossory said.