Resources for Applying for the Exam

• Candidate Information Guide
• Health Sciences Education Guide
• Recognised Health Professions List
  
• Recognised Mother Support Counsellor Organisations
• Pathway 2 Academic Program List
• Pathway 3 Plan Approval Guide
• Sample Memorandum of Understanding

Resources for Recertifying IBCLC Certificants

• Recertification by CERPs and by Exam Guide
• Individual CERPs Approval Guide

Policy Downloads

• Breastfeeding Breaks During Exam Administration
• Exam Eligibility Appeals Policy and Procedures
  
• Exam Administration and Outcome Appeals Policy and Procedures

Preparing for IBCLC Certification

Health professionals and mother support counsellors who provide lactation and breastfeeding care through their job or volunteer service are the individuals who most commonly seek certification as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant® (IBCLC®). However, IBLCE provides ways by which individuals with no clinical experience in lactation and breastfeeding care can qualify for the certification examination for lactation consultants.

If you are interested in becoming an IBCLC, this webpage will provide you with information about the following topics.

Overview of the Examination Eligibility Requirements

Health Sciences Education

Lactation Specific Clinical Experience

Lactation Specific Education

Description of Pathways

Deciding Which Pathway to Follow

Frequently Asked Questions about Qualifying for the IBLCE Examination

Applying for IBCLC Certification

Overview of the Examination Eligibility Requirements

Regardless of the pathway a person chooses to follow, candidates for the IBLCE examination must meet requirements in the following three areas.

• Health Sciences Education
• Lactation Specific Clinical Experience
• Lactation Specific Education

Health Sciences Education

Courses in subjects typically studied by health professionals during their professional education are required of all candidates. Candidates must complete courses in the 14 subjects shown below.

• Biology
• Human Anatomy
• Human Physiology
• Infant and Child Growth and Development
• Nutrition
• Psychology or Counselling or Communication Skills
• Introduction to Clinical Research
• Sociology or Cultural Sensitivity or Cultural Anthropology
• Basic Life Support (e.g. CPR)
• Medical Documentation
• Medical Terminology
• Occupational Safety and Security for Health Professionals
• Professional Ethics for Health Professionals
• Universal Safety Precautions and Infection Control

All candidates, regardless of their pathway, must complete the 14 Health Sciences Education courses prior to applying for the IBLCE examination. There is no time limit on this education. It is acceptable for the education to have been completed some years before applying for the IBLCE examination. For detailed information about the 14 health science subjects, please consult the Health Sciences Education Guide.

The Health Sciences Education requirement must be completed before you apply for the IBLCE exam and you must be prepared to provide evidence that you have completed the education.

• If you are educated in one of the professions on the Recognised Health Professions List, you may demonstrate completion of the Health Sciences Education by submitting a copy of your license, registration, transcript, diploma or degree.

• If you are not educated in one of the professions listed on the Recognised Health Professions List, you will need to provide copies of your transcripts and/or certificates that show you have satisfactorily completed the required coursework.

Note:  The Recognised Health Professions List reflects credentials held worldwide by health professionals who provide clinical care. Please click on the following link for more information about recognised health professions: Important Information Regarding IBLCE Eligibility Requirements

If you have questions about why your profession is not on the Recognised Health Professions List, please contact the IBLCE regional office that serves your country and be prepared to provide objective evidence in the form of a license or registration that demonstrates that your profession is recognised as a health profession in your state, province or country of practice. To find the regional office that serves your country, use the “Find Office in Your Country” search function in the upper right corner of this web page.

Lactation Specific Clinical Experience

The IBLCE examination tests the application of knowledge in the disciplines listed on the IBLCE Exam Blueprint.

The skill sets published in the Clinical Competencies for the Practice of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants are representative of the ways in which IBCLC certificants apply this knowledge to clinical situations. Candidates should have a broad range of experience in providing lactation and breastfeeding care that spans the spectrum from pre-conception through weaning and encompasses an extensive variety of clinical skills.

Lactation Specific Clinical Experience is defined as providing maternal/child care that supports breastfeeding families, including lactation assistance to pregnant and breastfeeding women and lactation education to families and/or professionals.

All examination candidates are required to report Lactation Specific Clinical Experience hours that were obtained within the 5 years immediately prior to applying for the examination. The number of hours in Lactation Specific Clinical Experience that are required will depend upon the pathway being followed.

Note: Actual practice and provision of lactation and breastfeeding care by the examination candidate is required. Observation or shadowing of lactation practitioners will not be counted as Lactation Specific Clinical Experience hours. In addition, the Lactation Specific Clinical Experience must be completed prior to applying for the IBLCE examination.

Lactation Specific Education

Comprehensive education in the subjects listed on the IBLCE Exam Blueprint is a vital part of preparing to become an IBCLC. Success on the examination is correlated with completion of education that covers all the disciplines and chronological periods listed on the IBLCE Exam Blueprint.

All candidates for the IBCLC certification examination must complete at least 90 hours of education in human lactation and breastfeeding. The required Lactation Specific Education must be completed within the 5 years immediately prior to applying for the IBLCE examination. Lactation Specific Education may be completed in a variety of ways, including in-person presentations, online education, distance learning and independent study modules.

• The Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee (LEAARC) provides candidates with guidance regarding the educational standards for courses in human lactation and breastfeeding.
  
  • LEAARC-approved courses have met specific standards indicating that the course provides comprehensive lactation education; however, IBLCE does not specifically require, recommend or endorse any of these courses.
• Courses approved for Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) provide instruction in the disciplines listed on the IBLCE Exam Blueprint.
  
  • Although IBLCE has awarded CERPs to these courses, IBLCE does not specifically require, recommend or endorse any of these courses.
• Academic programs that meet Pathway 2 requirements integrate the required 90 hours of lactation specific education into their curricula.
  
  • For your convenience, IBLCE provides a list of academic programs that meet Pathway 2 requirements; however, IBLCE does not specifically require, recommend or endorse any of these academic programs.

Note: The Lactation Specific Education is an entirely separate requirement from the Health Science Education requirement. For example, even though your lactation education may include information about some of the health science topics, you must complete 90 hours of lactation specific education in addition to the 14 health science courses.

To document your lactation specific education, you will need to provide certificates for the education you completed. Each certificate must indicate how many hours of instruction you completed.

Note: You must complete 90 "clock" hours of Lactation Specific Education, with each "clock" hour being 60 minutes. Continuing Education Units, or CEUs, are often based on 50 minutes of education, not 60 minutes of education.

Description of the Pathways

IBLCE offers three pathways that applicants may follow to qualify for the certification examination for lactation consultants. The three pathways are described below.

• Pathway 1: Use of Paid or Volunteer Clinical Experience in Lactation and Breastfeeding Care
  
  • Completion of the 14 Health Sciences Education courses
  • Reporting a minimum of 1000 hours of lactation specific clinical experience that was obtained within the 5 years immediately prior to applying for the IBLCE examination
  • Within the 5 years immediately prior to applying for the IBLCE examination, completion of a minimum of 90 hours of lactation specific education.
• Pathway 2: Graduation from an Academic Program in Human Lactation and Breastfeeding
  
  • Completion of the 14 Health Sciences Education courses
  • Within the 5 years immediately prior to applying for the IBLCE examination, graduation from one of the academic programs on the Pathway 2 Academic Program List
• Pathway 3: Completion of a Directly Supervised Clinical Mentorship
  
  • Completion of the 14 Health Sciences Education courses
  • Submission of a Pathway 3 Plan to IBLCE for approval
  • Within the 5 years immediately prior to applying for the IBLCE examination, completion of the IBLCE-approved Pathway 3 Plan
  • Completion of a minimum of 90 hours of lactation specific education within the 5 years immediately prior to applying for the IBLCE examination

Deciding Which Pathway to Follow

When considering the three pathways to IBLCE examination eligibility, it is important to give thoughtful consideration to the following questions.

Are you educated in one of the recognised health professions? [Please review the list of Recognised Health Professions before answering this question.]

• If you answered "Yes," you have already completed the Health Sciences Education.
• If you answered "No," you should review your higher education transcripts against the courses described in the Health Sciences Education Guide to determine whether or not you need to take additional courses. Or, if you are licensed or registered in your state, province or country in a clinical health profession that is not listed on the Recognised Health Professions List, please contact the IBLCE regional office that serves your country for more information.

In the past five years have you provided lactation and breastfeeding in your capacity as a recognised health professional or as a recognised mother support counsellor? [Please review the list of Recognised Health Professions and the list of Recognised Mother Support Counsellor Organisations before answering this question.]

• If you answered "Yes," Pathway 1 is a reasonable choice for you to make.
• If you answered "No," you should consider Pathway 2 or Pathway 3.

Frequently Asked Questions about Qualifying for the IBLCE Examination

• Have you already completed education in the subjects listed in the Health Sciences Education Guide?
  
  • If you have not completed this education, you should consider completing this coursework first.
• Are you currently working or volunteering in a job in which you provide care to breastfeeding families? Or, have you worked or volunteered in such a job in the past five years?
  
  • If you answered "Yes" to either of these questions, you may be able to use your experience to qualify through Pathway 1.
  • If you answered "No" to both of these questions, consider the next question.
• Is there a reasonable possibility that you will be able to obtain a paid or volunteer position in which you provide care to breastfeeding families?
  • If you can answer "Yes" to this question, Pathway 1 may be a viable option for you to consider.
  • If you answered "No" to this question, you should consider Pathway 2 or Pathway 3.

• If your volunteer service is primarily through in-person contact with mothers in group settings, you may count 500 hours for each full year of volunteer service.
  
  • Therefore, you would need 2 full years of volunteer service. IBLCE does not pro-rate volunteer service, only full years of volunteer service may be reported.
• If your volunteer service is mostly email and telephone counselling, you may count 250 hours for each gull year of volunteer service.
  
  • This means you would need 4 full years of volunteer service. IBLCE does not pro-rate volunteer service; only full years of volunteer service may be reported.