title: Professionalisation of a breast-feeding peer support service: issues and experiences of peer supporters.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to describe the issues faced by breast-feeding peer supporters as their roles altered from a voluntary to a professionalised role with targets, accountability and more formalised interface with health professionals.
  
  
  METHODS
  a descriptive qualitative study utilising group and individual semi-structured interviews, with thematic network analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  19 breast-feeding peer supporters were consulted from one peer support service located in the UK.
  
  
  RESULTS
  thematic network analysis of the peer supporter data generated a global theme of 'Professionalising Breast-feeding Peer Support'. The three underpinning organising themes (and their associated basic themes): 'visibility and communication', 'guardianship of knowledge' and 'roles and boundaries' revealed the early and transitional tensions and anxieties that peer supporters faced when their role altered from a voluntary position to a formal model of service delivery, particularly within the clinical environment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  professionalisation of peer support can lead to benefits in terms of providing a standardised and comprehensive service with increased capacity for service provision. However, the transitional difficulties faced by the peer supporters as they moved from a voluntary into a professionalised role included a lack of identity; restricted time to care for new mothers; pressures and anxieties of meeting targets and accountability of case recording and the hostility and gatekeeping practices experienced amongst some of the health professionals. Flexible systems incorporating service-user involvement and needs-led strategies may help to overcome these issues.
authors: School of Health, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK.
authors: Annette
authors: A
authors: Aiken
authors: Gill
authors: G
authors: Thomson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D003376:Counseling / Q000458:organization & administration; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010379:Peer Group; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015397:Program Evaluation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012944:Social Support; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Breast feeding; Peer support; Professionalisation; Qualitative