Healthy Babies UK believe in the value of mother-to-mother support and recognise that peer support plays a large part in the overall strategy of promotion and support for breastfeeding mothers. A Volunteer Breastfeeding Peer Supporter may have done their training through Healthy Babies UK by two different
routes.
1. Trained by a member of the team from Healthy Babies UK (Breastfeeding and Postnatal Practitioner).
2. Trained through a Children’s Centre or self-employed practitioner who has done the HBUK ‘train the trainer’ course.
The course is 6-8 weeks long a minimum, 16 hours classroom time. It is accredited by AIM through Healthy Babies UK (HBUK)
Course includes:
Ways of working effectively together
Health outcomes
Human milk for human babies
How breastfeeding works
Skin to skin
Positioning basics
Listening and communication skills
Positioning and attachment revisit and practice
Why women stop breastfeeding or never start
Common breastfeeding challenges
Life with a breastfeeding baby and the range of normal feeding patterns
When women and babies need professional support
Expressing and returning to work
Being a Peer Supporter
Record keeping
Role play and workbooks
All peer supporters trained using the HBUK course will be part of our network and additional tailored support if required.
“This course was a lot more informative and enlightening than I first imagined. I learnt so much” – Northampton, 2024
‘The course was fantastic in providing me with the knowledge and skills to help others. It has also helped me boost my confidence with breastfeeding my second baby. Thank you HBUK!’ – Tiverton, Devon 2023
“I feel I am well equipped to provide support to breastfeeding mothers and that I know my limits and where to direct them for further support” – Exeter, 2022
‘I enjoyed the course as a whole; it was well presented, well put together and fantastically informative.’ – Tiverton, Devon, 2016
