A review of peer support interventions in the recovery of mothers and pregnant people who use substances and an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of parents’ experiences of power and threat in the context of a strengthening families approach to safeguarding

Peer support is an established method of intervention in a variety of UK sectors, such as criminal justice and substance misuse settings. Positive impacts have been found upon engagement of service users, their overall wellbeing and reductions in stigma. Mothers and pregnant people (MAPP) who use substances, face many barriers to accessing services, are heavily stigmatised and benefit from support for their own, as well as their dependents’, health and wellbeing. This review provides a synthesis of peer support intervention outcomes, satisfaction, and experiences within this group. Four databases were searched with 10 studies fitting the inclusion criteria. A range of positive recovery related outcomes were found such as better connection to services, positive impacts on wellbeing, and the sense of community gained from and special relationship with peer support is described. Clinical implications include the use of peer support interventions in engaging this group in treatment and connecting them to the appropriate services, offering peer support as a means of providing connection, validation and a sense of community, and more support and training to services and those conducting peer support interventions (PSIs) to ensure their fidelity and safety. Issues with sampling, confounding variables and treatment fidelity may impact the reliability and validity of the results. Future research is warranted.