CHOOSING A PATHWAY
Are you a clinical healthcare professional who is currently providing or can find a setting to provide lactation care or education?
If so, Pathway One with an 1,000 clinical practice hour requirement over the last 5 years. If you are working full-time in this roll then you
Are you part of, or would you like, to complete a university programme in lactation consulting?
If so, Pathway Two with 300 clinical practice hour requirement. This is good for those people who are not clinical healthcare professionals. Please note that there are only specific programs which qualify so check the CAAHEP website and select “Lactation Consultant” in the Professions filter.
Are you a clinical healthcare professional who has the opportunity to work with an IBCLC mentor?
If so, Pathway Three with 500 hours of directly supervised lactation specific clinical practice may be for you. This is the only instance where all your hours need to be directly supervised, and IBLCE will need you to submit a Pathway 3 Plan Guide. Your plan will then need to be approved by IBLCE prior to starting the mentorship for the hours to be counted.
Do none of the above options sound like you?
Don't worry! You can still become an IBCLC. You will just want to follow these steps. It is important to note that these are not in chronological order and ideally would all be worked on simultaneously.
Step 1: University Health Science Courses
Ensure you have the required Health Science courses taken from an accredited university - this includes community colleges. To summarize, it is 14 total credits in the following topics, but you need to have at least one credit in each.
Each bullet point counts as one topic - even though there may be multiple options.
Each bullet point counts as one topic - even though there may be multiple options.
Step 2: Clinical Practice Hours
You are going to work towards Pathway One. This requires you to work directly with families providing lactation education for 1,000 hours in the 5 years prior to registering for the exam.
You are going to work towards Pathway One. This requires you to work directly with families providing lactation education for 1,000 hours in the 5 years prior to registering for the exam.
It is possible that you work at a Hospital, Birth Centre, Community Clinic, etc. and are able to take on a role which will allow you to work towards this requirement.
You may not work at one of these locations, or it may not be an option where you work. And that is okay too! You can still gain hours by volunteering at recognised breastfeeding support counsellor organisations: see the list here. Some examples of organisations are La Leche League International, Baby Cafés USA, and Breastfeeding USA. Don't worry if you are not located in the United States as there are international options too.
If you feel like you do not have the education required to provide lactation education or support, we recommend our course Foundations for Best Practice in Lactation Care. This course covers all facets of human lactation including: first feedings, positioning and latch, tools of the trade, increase milk supply, problem-solving lactation difficulties and more. You also earn the designation as a Certified Lactation Educator, click here to learn more about what that means,
Step 3: Lactation Specific Education
This is the 95-hour lactation specific requirement - including 5 hours of communication education. If you chose to take Foundations for Best Practice in Lactation Care, then these hours will go towards your total. We will cover courses for every Pathway in the next section.
This is the 95-hour lactation specific requirement - including 5 hours of communication education. If you chose to take Foundations for Best Practice in Lactation Care, then these hours will go towards your total. We will cover courses for every Pathway in the next section.
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Excellent course! I highly recommend this virtual learning experience. Not only was I able to take in all the content at my own pace but I learned so much about nursing, prenatal and post natal care and even about growing family dynamics. I never realized how much there is to learn about lactation, the growing baby and family. My mind has been opened and Im eager to go out into the clinic and meet those newborns and care for my new nursing moms. I feel empowered and more importantly, capable of doing this now.
A well rounded course in the physiology, biology, sociology and cultural influence on breastfeeding, with educated and experienced speakers and lots of resources to use. Thank you, this has been the most enjoyable education course I have ever taken and I got so much out of it!
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