OK, first off - don't laugh. Can someone please talk to me about breastfeeding peer support/counselling training?

[gaelicsheep]

After all the difficulties I've had in the past, and assuming I make it to 6 months plus with DD, I'm thinking I would like to train so that I can help others. But oh, I'm getting mighty confused at all the different options out there.

1. What exactly is a peer supporter, as opposed to a mother supporter, breast friend, or whatever other terms I've seen bandied about?

2. Can you actually train as a peer supporter on an individual basis? Both sets of info I've looked at (NCT and ABM) seem to aim the info about peer support at organisations wanting to block book. Who would block book these sessions and how would I get to know about it?

3. Moving on from peer support, what is the difference between the counselling training offered by the different organisations, the weight attached to it, and what you can do with it? ABM, for example, seems to charge £100 for a breastfeeding counselling course that lasts up to 2 years. NCT states that their diploma costs £4400 (!), but that they usually offer to pay for it, and it sounds like it can take much longer (more advanced?). Can you only volunteer obo a particular organisation if you have done their training? What about working independently?

God, so many questions. Just come and tell me everything you know and help me through the confusion. Is there anything else I need to consider?

Final question, would living somewhere quite remote (Highlands) with, apparently, very very few b/f counsellors affect what training, if any, I could get?

And someone would laugh because...?

Can't help but good on you! I'm looking at the same things so am interested in the answers.

Because I've probably been less than tactful on here in the past, and because I hold some views that could be seen as anti the party line...

Anyhow, thanks for answering. Good to know there's someone else thinking the same way.

Think it is brilliant you want to do this!
I am a peer supporter and I did it through my local surestart, though the actual scheme is administered by the local borough council and NHS Trust. So I would suggest you speak to someone at your Surestart bfing groups.

You don't live in the Stockton-on-Tees area do you?

Good luck and don't laugh. Ask NCT if they are running a course? They might sponsor you or suggest a route into it. I did it for a while.

NCT breastfeeding counsellor training takes about 2 1/2 - 3 years (I think?), the total cost of it is £4400 but they pay for it. I think you work for them for a couple of years then you can go independent. I have a friend who qualified last year, she's so lovely and I'm a little adn that she gets to help so many mums and babies.

"Because I've probably been less than tactful on here in the past, and because I hold some views that could be seen as anti the party line..."

You're looking at helping people, not following a party line.

I understand that with full training (as opposed to "just" peer support) you're trained to understand and come to terms with your own experiences so as not to colour your advice.

I'm in west yorks. You anywhere near?

I have done some training with ABM. From what I understood, their Peer Supporter training and Mother Supporter looks to be the same, just that Peer Supporter is more for health professionals to complete for work related purposes. I have completed the Mother Supporter module - admin fee of £25 IIRC plus you need to be a member.

I may go on to do their BFC training next, several more modules, approx £200 admin fee plus you need to offer help on their phoneline(from home) for 2 years minimum.

HTH. I think to do the detailed training you would need some face to face supervision for part of it, though the ABM training is mostly home study. I also did the local sure start peer support thing but it was a lot more basic than the ABM module.

"less than tactful" -

Not near West Yorks or Stockton on Tees. I'm in Highland. No Surestart around here and only one NCT b/f counsellor in the whole of Highland so far as I can see.

OCC - yes, that's a reason why I'd like to do full training. I'm well aware that my views are currently coloured by my own experience and I'd like to see the bigger picture.

sorry, you mentioned the Highlands.

I was also PMSL @ "less than tactful" but was being tactful in my reply :)

j/k :)

I'm not an obsessive in r/l honestly (although DH might beg to differ just now). You have to be so careful what you write on t'internet. Lesson learned (again).

Thanks everyone. Is it just best to try and train with the organisation that's most visible in your particular area, do you think? I think in my case that's none of them, or are some mostly phone based?

Oh, as an aside, can anyone else not access the ABM website at the moment?

Oh your in Scotland you could try the BfN (Breastfeeding Network) as they are biased there some ware. I've recently trained as a helper with them. The course was sponsored by the local surestart though. It was 12 week's of once a week group session. We learned all about basic latch techniques and basic listening and counselling skill's to, plus we did all evaluate our own expernaces and had to talk about them in our group.

This qualifies me to volunteer in our local surestarte centre and within other group/face to face settings. Your not trained to deal with more complicated problems.

I would like to go on and do there supporter course which is 20 training sessions over nine months and qualifies you to work on the supporter phone line and deal with the more difficult cases. Plus giving you more counselling training to.

I think you'd find it difficult to train to be an NCT BF councillor as they are quit strict on their entry requirement you have to have BF for at lest 6months I think. I also had problems with them trying to get funding, they would have paid for the course but I would have had to pay for childcare and course material/travel expenses and as you have to go to your nearest group to train it wasn't going to be an easy option for me. Nearest one was over an hours travel away.

For the BFN training, helper training you only need to have tried to BF there is no stipulation on for how long. But supporter training you need to have BF for at lest 3 months I think.

I think the ABM offer remote courses, at least that's what I'm told.

For BfN helper training, you need to see yourself as a breastfeeding mother (i.e. pregnant mums who intend to breastfeed can take it, iirc). For supporter training, I think the requirement is 4 months of breastfeeding.

The BfN training in my borough is free, and there is a creche for under-5s. (Under 6-month olds generally stay in the course room, anyway.)

In our borough, once you have trained as a Helper (peer supporter) then you can help out at the hospital or at groups - groups always have a Supporter too (BfN for BFC). Once you're a supporter, you can help out over the phone, plus run groups.

The voluntary organisations I'm aware of are LLL, NCT, ABM and BFN - why not just contact each of them for information and then decide which seems like the best fit for you? I know you can do LLL remotely - they have recently got govt funding for a program to train people up in areas of the country where there isn't already a group.

Have you spoken to midwives/health visitors local to you? The reason I ask is that I am in Highland and when I had my first baby there were no peer supporters, but now I've had my second I was put in touch with a peer supporter via my midwife. I was also asked if I'd consider training as a supporter and I'm sure the midwife said something about there being funding for training now which didn't used to be the case. Can't remember more detail than that (sorry, postnatal brain) but might be worth investigating NHS avenues?

gaelic-I'm so glad you've posted this as I've been thinking about this too.

It is all rather confusing though isn't it!? I know some people in my area have done the peer supporter course through our local NHS infant feeding specialist. I guess doing the peer supporter is a prerequisite to the breast feeding counsellor course.

Like you, I'm confused as to which organisation to go through and couldn't understand the difference in cost and content of the ABM and NCT ones. I know that once you are trained you have to work with that org. for so many years before moving on.

I, too wondered about working independently, but as someone mentioned recently- there is so much free information out there, why would somebody pay for it? I think there could be the possibility of working in the NHS but I get the impression they usually have been trained as midwives.

I think with NCT, you can run their breastfeeding courses (and get paid I think for that) and I do wonder if the NCT would be better as they are more of a well known organisation (in my mind anyway)- but does that matter?

Oooh, I wonder if Tiktok is around as she would obviously have some useful things to add.

To work independently, you should train as an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant.

In our borough, BfN trained people work for the NHS, fwiw.

I think a peer supporter course is generally a requirement for the BFC type course - it's a good way to test the water, see whether helping mums breastfeed is something that really suits you, before you commit the time and effort to a longer, harder course.

Some peer supporters do go on to train as NCT breastfeeding counsellors, but it's not a requirement.

NCT courses have much more personal teaching and assessing than others - it's a University Diploma, and there are tutorials, weekend workshop training, and contact with the University's assessment boards to ensure consistent quality. Breastfeeding counsellor tutors (who are paid) run monthly tutorials and there are one to one sessions as well. I think this is why it is more expensive than other bfc courses.

There are few opportunities to earn money as a breastfeeding counsellor, but they do exist. There are no more than a handful of IBCLCs in private practice in the UK. Many IBCLCs are also HCPs and their main income comes from that.

There are dozens and dozens of peer supporter courses in the UK, and I think they are a very good introduction to the basic skills - hope you find one that suits you, gaelicsheep. Try asking your HV, for starters.

Thanks everyone. I'd assumed that you'd need to have breastfed to at least 6 months for all the courses tbh - interesting about the BfN MigGirl so thanks for that. It sounds silly but having that in mind kind of gives me (yet another) reason for soldiering on cos I still wouldn't say it's exactly easy.

When I mentioned working independently I wasn't really meaning to earn money. I was thinking more about, for example, going into postnatal wards etc, but I guess it's better to work at that with an organisation anyway.

That's given me some good stuff to go on anyhow. Thanks very much.

Oh, yes, sorry, you have to have bf for 6 mths to train as an NCT bfc.

Not sure about the other orgs.

Peer supporter courses vary.

That's OK, I'm planning to - longer if I can. One question though, is that exclusively? I am now, but wasn't for a while when it was so hard.

Does anyone know if you have to be a nurse or midwife in order to become a board certified lactation specialist? Or can you aim for this if you've not got a healthcare background but have come via the breastfeeding/peer support route?

There was a thread about this a little while back April09 and I think the poster said that they are changing the rules soon and only HCPs will be able to sit the IBCLC exams. (not sure of dates though).

In order to sit the IBCLC exam, you have to have had an enormous experience already in supporting women to bf - IIRC it is several hundred hours. I don't know about rule changes, but historically, it has only been HCPs or very long-standing bfcs who have been able to aquire the hours.