Hello Karleen,
You wrote that
"In general studies have found that
professional input positively impacts the initiation of breastfeeding but
not exclusivity of bf or duration of bf and peer support positively impacts
duration of exclusivity of bf but not duration overall"

I found a systematic review (2001)of Cochrane , Medline and Embase from
Sikorski et al, which gives a different conclusion.
I cite: "There is clear evidence for the effectiviness of professional
support on the duration of any breastfeeding although the strength of its
effect on the rate of exclusive breastfeeding is uncertain.  Lay support is
effective in promoting exclusive breastfeeding while the strength of its
effect on the duration of any breastfeeding is also uncertain."
This is a very large review. Twenty eligible randomised or quasi-randomised
controlled trials from 10 countries were identified involving 23 712 mother-
infant pairs.  The review is cited as "Sikorski J, Renfrew MJ, Pindoria S,
Wade A. Support for breastfeeding mothers (Cochrane Review) in The Cochrane
Library, Issue 4, 2003.
It seems like the support of professionals and peer support are
complementary.  However I wonder: the exclusivity of bf has an important
influence on the duration of bf.  If professionals had no influence on the
exclusivity of bf at all, it should be expectable that the influence on the
duration of bf was not so large either.
I agree with you: those mothers who feed for a very long time very often
have had peer support.

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