As you enter the world of breastfeeding, it can be like learning a new language in terms of those that are available to support you. At Carolina Birth and Wellness, we have two International Board Certified Lactation Consultants that provide in-home lactation support for families in Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh.
So, What Exactly is an IBCLC?
In order to sit for the IBCLC exam, all individuals must meet the criteria in three areas:
Health Science Education: Prior to taking lactation specific classes, an individual must have a strong health science background. This includes taking science related classes, psychology classes, sociology classes, and a variety of other classes to provide a well rounded health science background. The requirements are roughly equivalent to a bachelors level education.
90 Hours of Lactation Specific Education: This is the nitty gritty of the lactation field. These classes may be taken online or in-person, but must follow a set of guidelines to provide a comprehensive lactation education.
Clinical Experience: The specific number of hours varies on a person’s background and field of experience, but at minimum it is 300 hours of clinical experience and maximum is 1,000 hours.
Pass Certification Test: After all three of the above requirements are met, individuals must pass a comprehensive test to receive the official designation as an IBCLC.
As you can tell, this is a lengthy process but also one that means when you are speaking with an IBCLC, you are getting a true expert in the field of lactation
Scope of an IBCLC
With such the extensive education and clinical experience that someone must have to become an IBCLC, it is clear these are true experts in the field of lactation. An IBCLC is able to provide evidence based support for breastfeeding families including education, hands on demonstrations, lactation management, and much more. Lactation consultants are not able to diagnose or proscribe medications, but medical providers rely heavily on their opinions when diagnosing or prescribing.
Read the full Scope of Practice for IBCLCs
Other Breastfeeding Support Titles
The big difference with all titles related to breastfeeding support designations is training. Only IBCLCs are in the Professional category of lactation support. There are many other breastfeeding trainings available, but none come close to the gold standard of the IBCLC.
Other titles are in certification alone, can include (but also not limited to):
Certified lactation Counselor (CLC): A five day training with a certification test to receive title
Infant Feeding Specialist (IFS): This person is trained by ProDoula for 20 hours and receives a comprehensive knowledge of all feeding types. This is a great addition to have for a postpartum doula so they can understand when to refer and when they can help support all of your choices.
Breastfeeding Counselor (BFC), Certified Lactation Educator (CLE), etc.: Trainings provide by various childbirth education organizations with less education requirements and less clinical experience
And many more… It can be challenge to navigate the difference between all these titles.
