Review: Breastfeeding Peer Counseling: From Efficacy Through Scale-Up
Open Access
- 5 August 2010
- journal article
- review article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Human Lactation
- Vol. 26 (3), 314-326
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334410369481
Abstract
An increasing number of publications have evaluated various breastfeeding peer counseling models. This article describes a systematic review of (a) the randomized trials assessing the effectiveness of breastfeeding peer counseling in improving rates of breastfeeding initiation, duration, exclusivity, and maternal and child health outcomes and (b) scientific literature describing the scale-up of breastfeeding peer counseling programs. Twenty-six peer-reviewed publications were included in this review. The overwhelming majority of evidence from randomized controlled trials evaluating breastfeeding peer counseling indicates that peer counselors effectively improve rates of breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity. Peer counseling interventions were also shown to significantly decrease the incidence of infant diarrhea and significantly increase the duration of lactational amenorrhea. Breastfeeding peer counseling initiatives are effective and can be scaled up in both developed and developing countries as part of well-coordinated national breastfeeding promotion or maternal-child health programs. J Hum Lact. 26(3):314-326.Keywords
This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- Antenatal peer support workers and initiation of breast feeding: cluster randomised controlled trialBMJ, 2009
- Evidence-based training of frontline health workers for door-to-door health promotion: A pilot randomized controlled cluster trial with lady health workers in Sindh Province, PakistanPatient Education and Counseling, 2008
- Impact of Peer Nutrition Education on Dietary Behaviors and Health Outcomes among Latinos: A Systematic Literature ReviewJournal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2008
- Scaling-Up Exclusive Breastfeeding Support Programmes: The Example of KwaZulu-NatalPLOS ONE, 2008
- Breastfeeding Peer Counselors in the United States: Helping to Build a Culture and Tradition of BreastfeedingJournal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 2007
- Postnatal peer counselling on exclusive breastfeeding of low‐birthweight infants: A randomized, controlled trialActa Paediatrica, 2005
- Effectiveness of home‐based peer counselling to promote breastfeeding in the northeast of Brazil: A randomized clinical trialActa Paediatrica, 2005
- Randomised controlled trial of support from volunteer counsellors for mothers considering breast feedingBMJ, 2004
- A Method for the Evaluation of Primary Health Care Units' Practice in the Promotion, Protection, and Support of Breastfeeding: Results from the State of Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJournal of Human Lactation, 2003
- Effect of community-based promotion of exclusive breastfeeding on diarrhoeal illness and growth: a cluster randomised controlled trialThe Lancet, 2003