Photo by sean Dreilinger via Flick Creative Commons
This week, health professionals around the world are finding out the results of the IBLCE examination to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Let’s take a closer look at those five letters they’ll be adding to their credentials…
- International – Our profession is made up of over 25,000 IBCLCs helping mothers and families in over 90 countries, from Argentina to France to the United Arab Emirates, and in between.
- Board – A panel of global experts continues to develop curriculum and assessments to make sure we are trained and evaluated based on the latest scientific information in our field (and we are never “bored” because of this!).
- Certified – We successfully completed rigorous training and clinical requirements and have demonstrated the competencies determined by our Board (see above).
- Lactation – Finally, the word we’ve all been waiting for! We are passionate about the benefits of breastfeeding for the mother, her infant, and family.
- Consultant – We educate, advocate, and advise to help families reach their breastfeeding goals.
Thank you Amber, for this wonderful “closer look!” I am proud and excited to be starting my second decade as an IBCLC.
Thank you, Maureen. I’m having to take a hit to my “blogging cred” today because this post was actually written by Maryanne Perrin, ILCA’s Social Media manager. She wrote it on a moment’s notice but I failed to log that in properly. Please accept my apologies and send all shout outs Maryanne’s way!
I love this blog piece! I like to say that the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Support Breastfeeding is her way of saying “It takes a village to breastfeed a baby.”
Apparently it takes a village to create great Lactation Matters blog pieces too. Thank you,Maryanne, for this clever and wonderful homage to IBCLCs; thank you, Amber, for our editorial oversight.
And WELCOME to all the new IBCLCs out there! IBCLC is the essential credential for lactation support. IBCLCs empower mothers and save babies lives!
Hi! How can we find how many new IBCLCs are in each country?
Laura, the registry of IBCLCs is maintained by the certifying body IBLCE, which is an entirely seaparate organzation from ILCA. There are about 25,000 IBCLCs globally. Here is the page with data from the IBLCE in the Americas, as of April 2012: http://americas.iblce.org/facts-and-figures. Check back with the IBLCE website (www.iblce.org); they usually do an announcement with tests statistics shortly after the exam.
Congratulations to all new IBCLCs, especially Carmen Langlois.