Virtual Breastfeeding Peer Support and Encouragement

Background: Breastmilk is the optimal source of nutrition for infants as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite proven benefits, rates of breastfeeding have shown to decrease drastically at six months of age. Purpose: The purpose of this project is to assess the effectiveness of virtual peer support and infant education in increasing/improving a mother’s wellbeing and breastfeeding relationship. This project was guided by the theory of self-efficacy. Methods: Participants were recruited utilizing flyers that were posted to social media and distributed at a breastfeeding center in Southwestern United States. Six breastfeeding mothers were recruited, and each participated in four, one-hour peer support sessions that were held weekly via Zoom. Participants completed the WHO Well Being Index and the Breastfeeding Relationship scale before and after the intervention. Pre- and post-implementation scores were compared. Ethical Considerations: The research was approved by the IRB board at Arizona State University and was in compliance with ethical considerations and standards of the institution. Results: Descriptive analysis conducted on the WHO Well-Being Index showed the same results or improvement for 80% of the questionnaire. Descriptive analysis conducted on the Breastfeeding Relationship Scale showed improvement on 81% of questions. Conclusions/Discussion: Breastfeeding can be taxing and overwhelming for mothers leading them to discontinue earlier than planned. Peer support has been identified to be substantial to women going through this process in helping them initiate and continue to breastfeed their infant.