Lactation/Breastfeeding peer counselors support happy, healthy babies & families
HealthConnect One trains Lactation/Breastfeeding Peer Counselors and partners with clinics, health centers, community organizations and national agencies to develop programs to support and train Lactation/Breastfeeding peer counselors.
These programs lead to rapid and dramatic increases in breastfeeding rates and retention. Our 2014 peer-reviewed research for The Perinatal Revolution showed Black and Latina mothers breastfed at dramatically higher rates than a comparison group. We’re proud that the approach to breastfeeding in Women Infants and Children, WIC, clinics grew in part out of HealthConnect One’s decades-ago engagement as content consultants for the WIC breastfeeding peer counselor program.
Who are community-based lactation/breastfeeding peer counselors?
A Lactation/Breastfeeding Peer Counselor is a woman who had a successful breastfeeding/lactation experience and is interested in supporting other women in her community to nurse their babies. She offers culturally appropriate support and information, identifies breastfeeding/lactation challenges, and provides strategies to help women achieve their infant feeding goals.
A Breastfeeding Peer Counselor’s goals are to:
- Offer culturally appropriate support and information
- Identify and address barriers in the local community
- Enhance communication and counseling skills
- Provide strategies to manage breastfeeding challenges
- Help women achieve their breastfeeding goals
Lactation/Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Programs are incorporated into existing community-based maternal and child health initiatives so that both staff and constituents from underserved communities learn strategies to encourage new mothers to breastfeed.
Recent posts about breastfeeding
- Reflecting on National Breastfeeding Month: #NBM21 in Review
As National Breastfeeding Month comes to a close today, we reflect on the activities and learnings on promoting breastfeeding intention, initiation, and duration during […] - Op-ed: Why We Need a Black Breastfeeding Week
August is National Breastfeeding Month, and in the U.S., there’s also a time to commemorate and uplift Black Breastfeeding Week during the last week of the […]
