Breastfeeding Peer Counsellors in Canterbury

Te Puawaitanga ki Otautahi Trust (TPKOT) and Rural Canterbury Primary Health Organisation (RCPHO) have been running breastfeeding peer support training programmes since 2010 with funding support from the Canterbury District Health Board.  A breastfeeding peer counsellor/supporter is a mother who has breastfeed a baby, or babies, who is available to give mothers, and pregnant women, information and support for breastfeeding their own babies. It’s about passing on useful information from mother to mother, and supporting other women to meet their own goals for breastfeeding. Breastfeeding peer counsellors have completed a free eight week programme in basic breastfeeding information and counseling skills, initially developed by La Leche League New Zealand.  After graduation they provide volunteer support to mothers in their own communities.  Peer support programmes have been found to be effective in increasing the initiation and duration of breastfeeding. Peer counsellors give new mothers what they need the most, a trusted support person who has breastfed too.  The key aspect of this programme that makes it work so well is the special peer factor – or to put it another way, ‘she’s like me.’ Women who train come from different backgrounds with a variety of breastfeeding and life experiences, which is a big strength of the programme, as there are active peer counsellors in the community to suit a wide range of mothers’ needs for support and information.