Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
School of Nursing & Midwifery, College of Science and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
PLoS One. 2020 Aug 6;15(8):e0237190. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237190. eCollection 2020.
There is growing evidence that peer support programs may be effective in supporting breastfeeding mothers. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) (the RUBY study) that tested peer support in the Australian context found that infants of first-time mothers who received proactive telephone peer support were more likely to be receiving breastmilk at six months of age.
This qualitative sub-study of the RUBY RCT explores the experiences and views of peer volunteers who delivered the intervention. Focus groups were conducted with 17 peers from the RUBY RCT between November 2015 and March 2016. All had provided peer support to at least one mother.
We found that volunteers identified strongly with the mothers' need for support when establishing breastfeeding. Key components of the support were strengthening the mothers' self-belief through affirmation and sharing experiential knowledge. Volunteers found the role rewarding and personally therapeutic although some women reported challenges initiating and maintaining contact with some mothers. Data were analysed using a hybrid approach to thematic analysis combining inductive and deductive techniques.
Breastfeeding peer support programs are reliant on recruitment of motivated volunteers who can provide empathetic mother-to-mother support. This study provides important information regarding volunteers' experiences that may support the upscaling of breastfeeding peer support for new mothers.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN 12612001024831.
越来越多的证据表明，同伴支持计划可能对支持母乳喂养的母亲有效。一项在澳大利亚环境中测试同伴支持的随机对照试验（RUBY 研究）发现，接受积极主动的电话同伴支持的初产妇的婴儿在六个月大时更有可能接受母乳喂养。
本研究是 RUBY RCT 的一项定性子研究，探讨了实施干预措施的同伴志愿者的经验和观点。2015 年 11 月至 2016 年 3 月期间，对来自 RUBY RCT 的 17 名同伴进行了焦点小组讨论，他们都至少为一位母亲提供了同伴支持。
我们发现，志愿者在建立母乳喂养时强烈认同母亲对支持的需求。支持的关键组成部分是通过肯定和分享经验知识来增强母亲的自我信念。志愿者发现这个角色很有意义，对他们自己也有治疗作用，尽管一些女性报告说在与一些母亲建立和维持联系方面存在挑战。数据使用主题分析的混合方法进行分析，结合了归纳和演绎技术。
母乳喂养同伴支持计划依赖于招募有积极性的志愿者，他们可以提供感同身受的母亲对母亲的支持。本研究提供了有关志愿者经验的重要信息，这可能有助于为新母亲扩大母乳喂养同伴支持。
澳大利亚新西兰临床试验注册中心，ACTRN 12612001024831。
