Become a Peer Supporter

Peer supporters are the backbone of GBSN and without them the charity would not exist.  GBSN is in essence “owned” by the Peer Supporters.

What is a Peer Supporter?

Peer supporters are parents who have breastfed for at least six months, have completed a GBSN peer supporters’ training course and provide support to other breastfeeding families.

They agree to attend a group regularly for six months following their training – some groups work on a rota basis, others are more informal and whoever gets there first helps to set up.

Peer supporters are volunteers and do not receive any pay although if they purchase tea and biscuits for their group or do photocopying their expenses will of course be reimbursed.

A woman takes a selfie-style photo of a group of mothers with babies in prams

The Role of a Peer Supporter is to:

  • Help set up the room – put out the books, bras, toys, chairs etc
  • Welcome attendees
  • Help first time attendees complete the attendance sheet
  • Make sure everyone has a drink and a biscuit
  • Support the Breastfeeding Counsellor
  • Clear up at the end of a session
  • Fill in forms for returning families, collate attendance data and forward to GBSN
  • Bank money from the sale of bras and notify the treasurer of the details

One of the most important responsibilities of our Peer Supporters is talking to families at the support group – this is very important. It could just be a social chat or the person may have a breastfeeding issue which becomes apparent during conversation.

Not all people will say they are having difficulties on the new attendee sheet but will open up when someone takes an interest and talks with them.

An attendee may be looking for information that can help them to think through issues that might be within the wide range of normal or they may need the assistance of the Breastfeeding Counsellor. 

Either way, Peer Supporters play a vital role in the work of the charity.

Training

If you would like to become a Peer Supporter, please get in touch to enquire about our training programme.

Peer Supporter training is open to all Gloucestershire mothers (or feeding parents) who have breastfed their own baby for at least six months.  It is expected that you will make a commitment to attend a group regularly for at least six months following training. 

Training is free-of-charge. It takes place once a week over a seven-week period via Zoom.

There are no prior educational requirements – if you have special learning needs, please discuss this with your assigned Trainer before the course starts.

The training course covers the following areas:

  • The role of a breastfeeding Peer Supporter
  • How to communicate as a breastfeeding Peer Supporter
  • The health benefits of breastfeeding
  • Breastfeeding in the context of UNICEF Baby Friendly minimum standards of care
  • Expressing and storing breastmilk
  • How to support challenges to breastfeeding
For further information on training to be a GBSN Peer Supporter, please pop along to your local group to discuss it with your Breastfeeding Counsellor or contact GBSN on info@gbsn.org.uk