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?

Tiktok - do the six months have to be exclusive (sorry to harp on)? I'd have thought that women who've had some difficulties themselves could be quite useful as counsellors, extra empathy etc.? Although as organic said, you'd obviously have to train so as to be totally objective.

Anyhow, I've emailed my local NHS infant feeding coordinator to ask about peer support training, so that's a start.

the ibclc exam requires 1000 hours of practice supporting women. there are lactation consultants out there that help other people become LCs.

imo there is a total gap in the market for 'private' breastfeeding peer counsellors. this needs to be bought back to the community level, and with all the funding cuts at the moment, peer supporters are not being paid everywhere (some places they are) and so are only doing a year or so and then going back to work, obviously. people need to make a living and women everywhere need support, and they don't always need the specialist expertise of a lactation consultant. apparently in times of public funding cuts, services get taken up by the private sector, and this is what should/might happen with bfing i reckon. we should start emulating what the situation used to be - mothers, aunts etc helping women in a family setting, but people should be paid for their time, so why don't peer supporters start charging so they can earn some extra cash?

little angels have done it oop north .

Thanks Crikeybadger....ah that is a shame. I do not have a healthcare background so looks like that would not be a possibility unless I did nursing for three years first!

Sorry did not see other responses too - very interesting stuff. I agree about peer supporters getting some income for their time. I am a LLL PS at the moment.

I'm in Highland too and am a peer supporter. NHS Highland has trained several groups this year in different areas. We did the NCT course but the infant feeding advisor from Raigmore is our 'boss'. The course was run over 6 weeks, once a week with 4 NCT sessions and the rest was for NHS mandatory training as we're working for NHS. We also have to have 6 refelctive sessions with our NCT teacher over the course of the year.

My area has the lowest BF rates apparently and so far we've not had much uptake but the other groups are doing better. We are one of the most rural areas though and there are only around 60 births a year! There's been a major restructure to the community team in our area which hasn't helped but the new team is now in place and are very enthusiastic. We have applied for funding to set up a BF support group in the area which will be great as there is nothing like that just now.

We had to have BF for at least 6 months (I don't think it had to be exclusively) and had to sign up for a year. I got the impression that they are planning to train some more supporters next year if there is funding.

Our NCT teacher also provides tutorials for those doing the NCT BF counsellor course and has a few students at the moment. One of the girls from our group is about to start the course. NCT will pay for most of it.

Hope this helps, any questions just ask or PM me.

Agree with you ruby about paying for peer supporters. It would show that the UK does actually value breastfeeding.

I'm still trying to work out which organisation to approach. I've been reading the Baby Cafe website. Being in a rural area, I've never come across the concept and the fact that they are a charity with a strong branding. I do see however that they have joined with the NCT back in June.

april and foxypar- do you actually go and help new mothers in hospital or at a group?

foxypar4 - that's really interesting and hello! I'm wondering which area of Highland you're in, but don't feel you have to say. I may well PM you if that's OK? I've emailed the lady at Raigmore for more info about any future training and hoping for a reply soon. I'm also going to go to my local support group after the school hols to find out some more.

I was told when I left hospital that a peer supporter would contact me but no one ever did . I guess perhaps resources haven't caught up with good intentions just yet.

I've never come across Baby Cafes either crikeybadger, as I'm also very rural. Will look at the website.

Thanks for that foxypar very interesting, and wow, you really are in the sticks aren't you.

CB - Yes I help at a Baby Cafe breastfeeding support group (though it may change soon to a different name). Have not helped in hospitals yet. TBH we don't get a lot of mums coming which is a shame - not sure if it is people not BF or health visitors midwives etc not promoting the groups enough.

I asked for my last post to be deleted as I'd probably given a little too much information.

gaelicsheep - I've sent you a PM.

crikeybadger - yes, really in the sticks! It's a shame about the distance because I'd love to go into the postnatal wards.

Just resurrecting this to update and ask another question.

So it turns out that my area is running peer supporter training next week, but I found out too late and it's full. Not sure if/when they'll be running any more. But I have a bee in my bonnet now and I'm not sure I can wait a whole year or whatever.

Anyone who's involved in b/f support, do you know is there a way of getting involved without having done an "official" NCT peer support package? What happens in your area? Anyone else had the same problem with training being full up? I can't believe they don't need as many peer supporters as they can get - certainly my HV seems to think so, but no can do with training at the moment.

It's so frustrating!

Sorry just re-read that and it's garbled. I think what I am attempting to ask is as follows. If your b/f group has peer supporters that have been trained on a specific programme (eg in our area one commissioned from the NCT), can you individually get yourself trained and work with them?

Still not sure that's clear - need to get to bed I think.

Gah, meant to say obviously I know I can ask the question, but I don't want to make a nuisance of myself by seeming to pester...

watching this as i am inerested

I think my totally garbled questions (where's the edit button Mumsnet Towers?!) might have made people lose the will GreatGreenArkleseizure! Perhaps you should start another thread!

Have you contacted the other orgs to see if they have anything running near you?

It might be worth keeping in touch with whoever is running the peer support course locally. People often drop out.

I'm hopefully keeping in touch - I'm on their list apparently. In hindsight it wasn't great timing as I'm not at all sure DD would have coped being in a creche. She's only 19 weeks and very clingy to me. And we were supposed to be going away, but I would have cancelled.

I will try to find out from the other organisations but I doubt there's any group training happening though as I don't think any of them are active up here. If I trained individually would that be any use do you reckon? I think you can do "mother supporter" training individually through the BfN for example, but I'm not sure that would be much use without a BfN group?

I'm hoping to look into counselling in the future, but I figured trying peer support would be a good first step. I suppose I can advise unofficially at the support group, but I always like to do things properly!

Would they have made you put a 19 week old in a creche? That's shocking. Most of the bf orgs openly welcome babes in arms.

BfN training is in person and in groups. I think you may be thinking of the ABM training?

Oh, perhaps that's what I meant. It's all becoming a blur - I need to read up again!

Yes I understand it would be a creche - it's NCT training though, commissioned by the NHS. Mind you with DD I couldn't see it working any other way. She'd probably have screamed (or shrieked) her way through unless she was attached to the boob the whole time! It probably will be better to do it when she's older, assuming they run any more training!

Yes, I meant ABM - sorry. So, to clarify my original question then. If I were to do the ABM Mother Supporter training, for example, what could I do with it in a practical sense? This isn't clear on the ABM website. Is it just a case of going along to a local support group and saying you've been trained as a mother supporter, can you help out?

You know what, for a supposedly intelligent woman I'm making a real meal of this! I blame sleep deprivation (have you seen the time ). Anyhow, I have put my alleged higher level research skills into action and have actually found, and joined, the ABM Chat, looked at the files and found the answer to my questions. Thank you for your patience!

I am resurrecting this thread to ask yet another question - sorry folks, and thanks for reading.

I am in the process of putting together an application for peer supporter type training with one of the organisations. I would still like to do bfc training in the future. But I've just read something that suggests that you can only train as a bfc if you have fed exclusively for 6 months or more. I have been feeding exclusively for the past 4 months, but in the first 3 months I had to give DD some formula - not for medical reasons per se, but due to depression, pain and crap support. Would that rule me out? I'd rather find out anonymously if it will be a definite No before approaching the organisation concerned.

Thanks.

This is not the case for NCT training.

You have to have breastfed for six months (usually - there's nothing too rigid about this) . There is no insistence on exclusivity.

Other organisations may have different requirements but honestly, I would be really surprised if any of them made 'no formula at all' into a rule.

Who has told you they do?

Don't really want to say Tiktok, as I might be misunderstanding/misrepresenting. It's on a website for breastfeeding support run by two well respected bfcs - they're explaining what a bfc is and how they're trained. Thanks for answering me.