I am a Lactation Consultant who has been hired to coordinate a peer support
project in our Health Region in Southern Alberta, Canada.  The project ran
for about 6 months in 2001 - we trained 15 volunteers and began matching moms
and volunteers.  I was away for 4 months from August - December and have been
asked again to coordinate the project for another 16 month trial.  The peer
support is available to all women, with a special effort being made to match
moms in our program for disadvantaged women (similar to the WIC population in
the US) with volunteers.  The goal of the project is to increase
breastfeeding initiation and duration rates in this population.

I have 2 questions to pose -
To other Peer Support Coordinators and to Peer Support Workers -
What advice do you have for me re :
a. keeping and supporting peer support workers
b. advertising the project to pregnant women effectively
c. what you have found has made your own program successful.

We are thinking of providing an incentive to have pregnant women contact the
project and then be able to receive their incentive.  We are thinking of a
book re breastfeeding to give them, and then closer to their due date to
contact them again and offer a match with a peer support worker.  The book
would need to be $15 maximum and written at a grade 6 level.

What suggestions would you have for a book that might fit these criteria, or
do you have suggestions for another incentive that you have found to be
helpful?  I would like to try and stay away from equipment (pumps etc.) since
I worry that it gives the message that a woman cannot breastfeed unless she
has 'extra' equipment!

Sorry for the long post, but I do appreciate the expertise of this group.
You can email me privately if you wish, or post a reply.

Thanks in advance,
Diane Hill, RN, BScN, IBCLC
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

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