{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T18:02:49Z","timestamp":1785175369548,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785110400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Newcastle City Council"},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria","award":["NIHR200173"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIHR200173"]}]},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria","award":["NIHR200173"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIHR200173"]}]},{"name":"National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria","award":["NIHR200173"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NIHR200173"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Breastfeeding has health benefits for women and infants. Although the WHO recommends that infants are breastfed exclusively for the first six months, exclusive breastfeeding rates remain low in the UK, with many women stopping breastfeeding within six weeks of their infant\u2019s birth. Many women face challenges initiating and continuing breastfeeding, including low confidence, limited support and misinformation. Breastfeeding peer support (BPS) services play a vital role in supporting women to continue to breastfeed by connecting new mothers with trained volunteers who offer advice, emotional encouragement and reliable information.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This study aimed to undertake a formative evaluation of the BPS service in Newcastle upon Tyne from the perspective of those who deliver the services, the wider healthcare team and mothers\u2019 experiences of utilising the service. This evaluation used a qualitative design, consisting of one-to-one semi-structured interviews with practitioners, volunteers, healthcare professionals and service users. Recruitment took place between 28\n                      <jats:sup>th<\/jats:sup>\n                      March \u2013 14\n                      <jats:sup>th<\/jats:sup>\n                      May 2025. Recorded interview data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Braun and Clarke\u2019s coding reliability thematic analysis.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Twenty-two interviews were conducted (n\u2009=\u200911 practitioners, volunteers and healthcare professionals and n\u2009=\u200911 service users). Analysis identified four themes: mechanisms of the service; support offered by the service; outcomes of the service, and challenges to service delivery. Overall, the BPS was considered a supportive service by participants.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The normalisation of breastfeeding was seen as crucial to the service, while service users described that the emotional support provided helped to increase their confidence in breastfeeding. Challenges were identified for the service, including engaging those aged under 25 years and those for whom English is a second language. These findings will be used to inform the future development of the service.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0354027","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]],"date-time":"2026-07-27T17:22:42Z","timestamp":1785172962000},"page":"e0354027","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["An evaluation of a breastfeeding peer support service in North East England: A qualitative study with service users, practitioners and volunteers"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5516-6230","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kerry","family":"Brennan-Tovey","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8216-2999","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Simon","family":"Barrett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Louise","family":"Hayes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Malcolm","family":"Moffat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gina","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Raisa Jessica (Ryc)","family":"Aquino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Judith","family":"Rankin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,27]]},"reference":[{"issue":"467","key":"pone.0354027.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/apa.13136","article-title":"Summarising the health effects of breastfeeding","volume":"104","author":"LM Grummer-Strawn","year":"2015","journal-title":"Acta Paediatr"},{"issue":"10017","key":"pone.0354027.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"475","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(15)01024-7","article-title":"Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect","volume":"387","author":"CG Victora","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"pone.0354027.ref003","first-page":"37","volume-title":"Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding","author":"WHO and UNICEF","year":"2003"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0354027.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1186\/s13006-024-00631-2","article-title":"Teleintervention\u2019s effects on breastfeeding in low-income women in high income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"19","author":"M Corkery-Hayward","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int Breastfeed J"},{"key":"pone.0354027.ref005","unstructured":"WHO. Global breastfeeding scorecard, 2019: increasing commitment to breastfeeding through funding and improved policies and programmes [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2025 Jan 24]. Available from: https:\/\/www.who.int\/publications\/i\/item\/WHO-NMH-NHD-19.22"},{"key":"pone.0354027.ref006","unstructured":"Nuffield Trust. Nuffield Trust [Internet]. Breastfeeding of infants. 2025 [cited 2026 Jan 27]. Available from: https:\/\/www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk\/resource\/breastfeeding"},{"key":"pone.0354027.ref007","unstructured":"Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. GOV.UK [Internet]. Breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks, 2024 to 2025 statistical commentary. 2025 [cited 2026 Jan 27]. Available from: https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/statistics\/breastfeeding-at-6-to-8-weeks-data-for-2024-to-2025\/breastfeeding-at-6-to-8-weeks-2024-to-2025-statistical-commentary"},{"key":"pone.0354027.ref008","unstructured":"Public Health England and UNICEF. GOV.UK [Internet]. 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