An IBCLC is an allied health professional who, by meeting eligibility requirements and by passing an independent examination, possesses the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes, to provide professional-level, quality breastfeeding assistance to babies and mothers. With a focus on preventive health care, IBCLCs encourage self-care and parental decision-making, prenatally and postnatally. IBCLCs use a problem-solving approach to provide appropriate information, recommendations and referrals in a variety of settings.
IBCLCs work in hospitals, clinics, nutrition programs, the community, and private practice.
IBCLCs are certified after sitting for an examination covering maternal and infant anatomy, physiology and endocrinology, nutrition and biochemistry, immunology and infectious disease, pathology, pharmacology and toxicology, psychology, anthropology and sociology, growth parameters and developmental milestones, interpretation of research, ethical and legal issues, technology, and public health. Candidates qualify to take the board examination after obtaining specific education in lactation and performing thousands of hours of clinical practice. To ensure that IBCLC's remain current with the rapidly expanding knowledge about lactation, all IBCLC's must recertify every five years to maintain the credential.
The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) is a non-profit corporation established in 1985 to develop and administer a voluntary certification program for lactation consultants. Candidates must meet eligibility criteria as well as pass a university-level certification examination offered annually at numerous sites around the world and translated into several languages.
The IBCLE has been fully accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), the body which sets stringent standards for certifying organizations.