Peer counselors are mothers in the community with personal breastfeeding experience who are trained to support, encourage, answer questions and address common breastfeeding worries.
Lactivist is really proud to have Juno’s diary from when she was training to be a breastfeeding peer counsellor. Juno is a busy mum with 5 children and years of breastfeeding experience. Her diary is not just a record of the subjects covered in the course but a personal account of how the subjects made her feel and what she learnt from being a part of the group.
week 1 – Juno becomes part of part of this team – a network of volunteers supported by the Primary Care Trust.
week 2 - Communication and building up a trusting relationship.
week 3 – All about the benefits of breastfeeding.
week 4 – Anatomy of the Breast and Hormones of Lactation
week 5 – The Composition of Human Milk
week 6 – Barriers to Breastfeeding
week 7 – Basic Breastfeeding Management
week 8 – Getting Ready for Baby and Ideas to Make Breastfeeding Work in Day-to-Day Living
week 9 – Understanding Baby Needs from Infancy to Toddlerhood
week 10 – Breastfeeding in Different Situations
week 11 – Examining Our Attitudes Towards Other People
If you are interested in training to be a Breastfeeding Supporter yourself, then it is worth asking your local midwife or health visitor if there are any courses in your area. Some areas have local schemes eg Real Baby Milk in the southwest of England, not affiliated to BfN LLL ABM NCT
Here are some main contact details
La Leche League on 0845 4561844.
www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/training.html
NCT Breastfeeding Peer Support training
Please feel free to add any contact details for breastfeeding peer support training programmes by commenting below.
Medway Breastfeeding Network
To discuss becoming a Peer Supporter in Medway . Please contact Beverley Dyke on 07908817569 . Or Bev Dee on facebook . We provide NCT based training and on-going support /training . All we ask is that you have breastfed for at least 6 months and have a positive attitude to breastfeeding .
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Cradles Breastfeeding Support will be running training for new Peer Supporters shortly. To register your interest, please visit our website, or find us on Facebook (Cradles Breastfeeding Support Ilkeston). We will publish more details on our website as soon as times/ venues etc have been confirmed. Mums of any age with breastfeeding experience living in or around Ilkeston in Derbyshire are welcome to join the training programme.
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NCT’s training for Breastfeeding Counsellors is excellent and extensive – the approx 3 year training leads to a university DipHE. Info here http://www.nct.org.uk/nct-college/diploma-courses/breastfeeding. Some NCT breastfeeding counsellors also train breastfeeding peer supporters (OCN accredited), info here http://www.nct.org.uk/professional/breastfeeding-peer-support-training
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Training with the ABM, by home study modules:
http://abm.me.uk/training-association-breastfeeding-mothers-1
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For late 2011, there are several Peer Supporter training courses in the pipeline across North Wales. Contact your local (North Wales) BF support group to find out more.
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Peer Support Training starting 15th September 2011 in Whitton. Thursday 9.30-11.30 for 9 weeks (One week break for half term).
NCT tutor.
For more information contact peersupporthounslow@hotmail.co.uk
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Many Sure Start Centres also run Peer Supporter Courses like the one I attended, which was backed by La Leche League.
As well as the Sure Start initiatives, in Northampton we also have the Mum-to-Mum project, which is run by Babyways (www.babyways.org) and aims to connect mums with a Peer Supporter within days of giving birth.
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