The impact of one-to-one peer support on mothers' personal breastfeeding goals and emotional well-being: a scoping review.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the impact of one-to-one peer support on mothers' personal breastfeeding goals.

Design: Scoping review guided by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework and reported in accordance with PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. Qualitative data were analysed using descriptive content analysis. Quantitative data were analysed by identifying numerical trends and recurring patterns, and a concise overview of key descriptive findings was provided using frequency counts and proportions.

Setting: Studies conducted across ten countries globally, identified through systematic searches of seven electronic databases and screening of reference lists.

Participants: Thirty-eight studies were included: twenty quantitative, seven qualitative, six mixed methods and three secondary analyses (drawing on two relevant primary sources). Participants were mothers who received one-to-one breastfeeding peer support, predominantly in community or home-based settings.

Results: One primary outcome was assessed: The impact of one-to-one peer support on mothers' personal breastfeeding goals. Two secondary outcomes were identified. The first examined the effect of one-to-one peer support on breastfeeding outcomes based on traditional measures of breastfeeding success. Of the included studies, 50 % reported positive effects of one-to-one peer support on traditional measures of breastfeeding success, while 21 % found no statistically significant differences. An additional secondary outcome reported in 34 % of the included studies examined the impact of mother-centred breastfeeding peer support on maternal emotional well-being.

Conclusions: One-to-one peer support enhances the mothers' ability to achieve their personal breastfeeding goals and positively influences emotional well-being. These findings underscore the need to integrate structured one-to-one peer support into maternal health services in Ireland and globally.