Peer counselors for breastfeeding mothers in the hospital setting: trials, training, tributes, and tribulations.

Boston Medical Center (BMC), an inner-city, Baby-Friendly teaching hospital with approximately 2000 births per year, has employed breastfeeding peer counselors since 1998. The Breastfeeding Center frequently receives requests for information on our peer counselor program. This article reviews program models, training methods, practicalities, benefits, and challenges associated with employing breastfeeding peer counselors in the hospital setting. Specifically, it focuses on 3 different models of peer counseling programs used at BMC: the telephone model, the postpartum model, and the neonatal intensive care model, and it considers the benefits and issues associated with each model.