The participants believed that the support delivered via Internet and mobile applications was a positive endeavour used along with conventional support to influence how confident breastfeeding women felt, as noted by Breastfeeding Volunteer3:
“The phone is more immediate, I think even with the calls we get from the helpline is actually really good to be able to email people with extra information. I can see them work in conjunction. I think it works some times for problems better. You have to ask more questions on email, which would happen more naturally by phone. I definitely think that it will grow…” (Breastfeeding Volunteer3)
This was thought to influence how breastfeeding women feel about their ability to breastfeed. The women searching online support had the possibility to extend their network of support, particularly through the use of social networking and text messages. Some antecedents of breastfeeding self- efficacy were thought to be influenced by the support delivered using Internet and mobile applications.
Online social support in a peer-to-peer breastfeeding support context Ana Burman 4.4.1. Performance accomplishments
The supporters thought that women who had a previous positive breastfeeding experience, felt more inclined to share and participate in social networks or forums, as pointed by Breastfeeding Volunteer6:
“Although the moderator role is really to make sure that people are following the rules of the website there was a sort of unspoken idea that the people that were moderating that website, which wasn’t just me, would be people who knew something about feeding babies and would be able to reply with helpful information and signpost people to the right support and generally making sure that the information that people were giving balanced information and there was some accuracy on what people were told” (Breastfeeding Volunteer6)
4.4.2. Verbal persuasion
The participants also thought that Internet and mobile applications provide an alternative channel for the supporters to verbal persuade mothers of the benefits linked to breastfeed, which in turn can influence the mother’s self- efficacy feelings, as observed by Breastfeeding Volunteer9:
“Once I had my son I realised that the support needed amongst BF women is very different from the support that is needed amongst a group of women who’s had babies and chosen not to BF or has been unsuccessful with BF…Doing so using text messages or emails is a good alternative option (Breastfeeding Volunteer9)
4.5. Chapter summary
In this chapter I presented the themes arising from the interview study with breastfeeding peers supporters. The themes reflected the supporters’ experiences, views, concerns and expectations of using Internet and mobile applications to support women with breastfeeding.
All participants in the study agreed that using Internet and mobile applications is a way forward to extend the reach of support delivered by breastfeeding support organisations. All participants had access to Internet broadband and mobile phones. Internet applications used by the participants to deliver support included emails, social networking, Internet Forums and Instant Messaging. The participants also used extensively text messages to exchange support information with mothers. Some participants also used smartphones to access the Internet and to use Internet applications. The impact of Internet and mobile application on the running of the voluntary organisation was also discussed by the participants. The supporters rely heavily on these applications to organise their
Online social support in a peer-to-peer breastfeeding support context Ana Burman activities and training and to share information amongst them. The participants also discussed their expectations with regards to develop further the services, particularly through the use of face-to- face element provided by videocalls.
The participants reported a positive experience with delivering support using Internet and mobile applications. They felt that through using online social support they were able to deliver a new level of service. This new level of services had its own challenges, risks, benefits and promises. They also felt that the women who they had supported through these applications felt happy, positive and supportive.
The participants discussed the impact and benefits of Internet and mobile applications had in their breastfeeding support activities. This included the opportunity to reach breastfeeding mothers outside their geographic boundaries, to provide a 24 hours facility for women to contact support services, to provision of an open and multidisciplinary environment to discuss breastfeeding issues. The possibility of self-education and the ready available of information was also identified as some of the benefits of using Internet and mobile applications to deliver support to breastfeeding women. Concerns about the use of Internet and mobile applications were also discussed by the participants. Privacy and security issues surrounding the use of these applications were amongst these concerns. The participants were particularly concerned about how to protect the mothers’ personal information shared with them and also their own personal details. The need for standards and training to address these issues was also a concern amongst the participants.
The next chapter presents the result of the second part of study. The results presented in next sections supports further understanding of how the women involved in this research use Internet and mobile applications for breastfeeding support.
Online social support in a peer-to-peer breastfeeding support context Ana Burman