Introduction: The nutritional status along with physical and mental development of infants is an effective factor on children’s health  throughout the life. Various strategies have, so far, been used to achieve optimal infant growth.  Using  non-professional support is one of these methods . This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of peer support on the growth patterns of infants aged below one year old.
 
Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial, 240 primiparous women were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The control group received standard education and the experimental group was, besides receiving the same education,  supported by 30 breast feeding consultants (women with successful breastfeeding records) during the 6 months of  postpartum. The infants’ growth and developmental patterns were evaluated at the end of 1,2,4,6 and 12 months, respectively. This clinical trial was carried out in all the maternity hospitals and health centers of Ilam city (western Iran) during July 2010 to April 2012. Data were collected using a questionnaire and then analyzed using SPSS software version 16 and statistical tests including mean, percentage, Chi square test, Fisher test.
 
Findings: At 1, 2, 4.6 and 12 months of our reaerch, the two groups demonstrated a significant difference in terms of accommodation with the standard curve of weight gain, (P=0.001). The mean heights in both the groups was significantly different at 2, 12 months(P=0.001). The mean of head circumferences in the groups did not show any differences significantlym, (P>0.05).
 
Discusion & Conclusion: Our investigation came to the ocnclusion that besides encouraging mothers to continue lactation, peer support can be effective in promoting the growth and developmental patterns of children.

Introduction: Consecutive pregnancies with an of interval less than two years is associated with adverse consequences for the mother and child. Education and support of women during breastfeeding is one of strategies that have been used for appropriate spacing between pregnancies. This study aimed to investigate the effect of peer support on the incidence of pregnancy during breastfeeding and the use of family planning methods in Ilam, Iran.
 
Materials & Methods: This interventional study was conducted in birth and health centers of Ilam between 2010 and 2012 among 240 nulliparous women who were randomly divided into case and control groups. The control group received the standard educational programs, while the case group received both the standard education and peer support from 30 consultants for six months after delivery. One hundred fifty-four participants (79 subjects in the case group and 74 in the control group) completed the questionnaires.. The collected data were analyzed using decriptive statistics such as mean and percentage and chi-square test and Fisher's exact test in SPSS, version 16.
 
Findings: The results showed that 24 months after delivery,  pregnancy rate during breastfeeding in the control group was significantly higher than the case group (20% v.s  1.5%; P=0.004). The time of pregnancy in the control group was significantly earlier than the case group(9.6±3.56 months postpartum vs. 18.26±1.25; p=0.01). The two groups were statistically different in terms of onset of use of contraceptive methods (72.71±61.35 vs. 10.02±36.71 days post-partum; P=0.001).
 
Discussion & Conclusions: Appropriate education and consultation programs for young and inexperienced women can prevent pregnancies during breastfeeding.