Background Interventions to promote breastfeeding are the cornerstone of efforts to reduce childhood illness and death from undernutrition. Evidence suggests that one of the most effective strategies to increase breastfeeding is through peer counsellors. However, the experiences of peer counsellors has not been studied in depth. This study aimed to collect and report the experiences of peer counsellors participating in an intervention study to improve breastfeeding in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methods Peer counsellors underwent a 10 day training course in May 2013 which included practical sessions on position and attachment and common difficulties with breastfeeding. Home visits were conducted with new mothers and performance of peer counsellors was monitored by senior breastfeeding counsellors. The number of supervised home visits needed to achieve a satisfactory level of competency was recorded. Demographic data were collected and a structured interview was performed in the first six months of the project (May-September 2013). One structured interview per peer counsellor was conducted by the project manager at the project site office to gain understanding of their experiences in counselling mothers. The interview included some open-ended questions on specific aspects of the training that they found useful, challenges faced, and whether they developed close friendships with the mothers that they were counselling. Results Seventeen peer counsellors with an average age of 31 years (SD 6.8) and at least six years of schooling participated in the study. All peer counsellors were satisfied with their role and with the training that they received, and most felt that they were able to deal with common breastfeeding problems. The peer counsellors reported that building a personal rapport and establishing a peer-to-peer relationship was most important in supporting mothers to breastfeed. Common challenges included interruption of sessions by relatives/children, as well as mothers being too busy for the visits. Conclusion In future peer counselling for breastfeeding projects, more focus could be placed on the communications aspects of the training, especially in how to deal with non-supportive family members and managing interruptions effectively, as well as how to motivate and engage busy new mothers.

中文翻译：

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达卡市区同伴辅导员的特征和经验：结构化访谈研究。

背景促进母乳喂养的干预措施是减少儿童期疾病和营养不良死亡的基石。证据表明，增加同母乳喂养最有效的策略之一是通过同伴咨询员。但是，同行辅导员的经验尚未得到深入研究。这项研究旨在收集和报告同伴辅导员参与干预研究以改善孟加拉国达卡市区母乳喂养的经验。方法同行辅导员于2013年5月接受了为期10天的培训课程，包括关于位置和依恋以及母乳喂养常见困难的实践课程。对新母亲进行了家访，并由高级母乳喂养咨询员监测同伴咨询员的表现。记录了达到令人满意的能力水平所需的监督家访次数。在项目的前六个月（2013年5月至9月），收集了人口统计数据并进行了结构化访谈。项目现场办公室的项目经理对每个同伴顾问进行了一次结构化访谈，以了解他们在辅导母亲方面的经验。访谈包括一些关于培训特定方面的开放性问题，他们发现培训有用，面临挑战，以及他们是否与自己辅导的母亲建立了密切的友谊。结果十七名平均年龄为31岁（SD 6.8），至少受过六年教育的同伴辅导员参加了该研究。所有同伴咨询员都对他们的作用和接受的培训感到满意，并且大多数人认为他们能够解决常见的母乳喂养问题。朋辈辅导员报告说，建立个人关系并建立朋辈关系对支持母亲进行母乳喂养至关重要。常见的挑战包括亲戚/孩子中断会议，以及母亲太忙于探视。结论在未来的母乳喂养项目同伴咨询中，可以将更多的重点放在培训的沟通方面，尤其是在如何与无助的家庭成员打交道和有效管理打扰方面，以及如何激励和吸引忙碌的新妈妈。朋辈辅导员报告说，建立个人关系并建立朋辈关系对支持母亲进行母乳喂养至关重要。常见的挑战包括亲戚/孩子中断会议，以及母亲太忙于探视。结论在未来的母乳喂养项目同伴咨询中，可以将更多的重点放在培训的沟通方面，尤其是在如何与无助的家庭成员打交道和有效管理打扰方面，以及如何激励和吸引忙碌的新妈妈。朋辈辅导员报告说，建立个人关系并建立朋辈关系对支持母亲进行母乳喂养至关重要。常见的挑战包括亲戚/孩子中断会议，以及母亲太忙于探视。结论在未来的母乳喂养项目同伴咨询中，可以将更多的重点放在培训的沟通方面，尤其是在如何与无助的家庭成员打交道和有效管理打扰方面，以及如何激励和吸引忙碌的新妈妈。