IBCLCs are the essential credential for lactation support.
IBCLCs empower mothers and save babies’ lives.
Happy New Year, from the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) Board of Directors!
We close out 2012, a year when ILCA took on a heightened advocacy role, on your behalf, for the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) credential and profession. Looking toward 2013, ILCA will continue this important work on a macro level, while offering to members the resources you will need to advocate and protect the profession — and your jobs — on a micro level. ILCA is the international professional association for IBCLCs and others who support our vision, mission and strategic plan.
IBCLC advocacy: If not us, who? If not now, when?
Some of ILCA’s recent efforts to promote and protect the work of IBCLCs:
Joint Stakeholder Letter: In a first-ever communication of its kind, ILCA joined with the certifying board (the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, IBLCE) and the education/accreditation organization (Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee, LEAARC) to send a co-signed letter to nearly 100 stakeholder-organizations and policy-makers, worldwide, describing why the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is the essential credential for lactation support. This “macro” letter is available on the ILCA website for you to download, and distribute (along with the ILCA Position Paper on the Role and Impact of the IBCLC) in your “micro” professional community.
Social Media Leadership: ILCA’s Lactation Matters blog, just 18 months old, has proven the power and reach of global, on-line conversations. There have been 145,000 page views, from 174 countries, of our thought-provoking articles from dozens of invited authors. It doesn’t get more international than that. An example: The blog about acceptance of Nestle funds by World Health Organization (WHO) partner Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) spawned — within one week — an international on-line petition, garnering nearly 2,000 signatures, urging PAHO to return the funds … an example of the power of grassroots advocacy through social media. The ILCA Facebook Page has nearly 6,500 “likes,” which is MORE than our membership of 6,000 people in 85 countries! We also have a Twitter feed with over 1,500 followers.
Even if you prefer to keep up with ILCA news the traditional way (through your Association News column in JHL, the eGlobe on-line newsletter and the ILCA website), it is important to know that these newer forms of outreach expand ILCA’s presence and influence to an audience that may never otherwise have interacted with us.
Journal of Human Lactation (JHL): Have you noticed how hefty your print publication is lately, when it arrives in the mail? Under Editor Anne Merewood’s leadership, the submission rates to our highly-esteemed research journal have skyrocketed in the past year. The JHL impact factor continues to rise to remarkable levels for a specialized journal of its size. Theme-focused issues are being produced, and under consideration is the expansion to six issues a year. Are you aware JHL has free podcasts you can download, with short, intriguing interviews of article authors? Don’t miss out on the JHL Facebook Page!
Financial Strength of ILCA
ILCA continues to re-build its financial reserves, while meeting a tightly-honed budget designed to provide high-value for your membership dollars. About 85% of ILCA members are automatically “bundled” into membership with their the National/Multi-National (NMN) Affiliate (Canadian Lactation Consultant Association (CLCA), Lactation Consultants of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ), and United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA)) , providing resources geared for specific geopolitical regions. 2013 will bring a re-energized articulation of the ILCA-NMN Affiliate relationship, using a “collective impact” model (or collaborative effort, to meet shared goals), under the experienced leadership of our recently-installed Executive Director Richard Padlo.
Professional Development and Education
Have you participated in one of ILCA’s FREE on-line webinars? Well over 1,000 people around the world, from over 38 countries, have listened to ILCA webinars offered in French, Spanish, German, and English. For those who need continuing education units, these webinars (and dozens of other on-line study module offerings) can be purchased, allowing Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) to be awarded, through our ILCA CERPs onDemand portal.
As valuable as on-line learning is, nothing can compare with ILCA’s world-famous international conference. It is the only way to network face-to-face, and learn from, 1,000+ of your colleagues in lactation. This year’s conference in Melbourne, Australia (25-28 July 2013) will provide unparalleled education, professional development, and cultural enrichment.
Resources in Several Languages…And a Chance to Invest in Yourself
ILCA members can now access over 150 resources in ten languages (some as free downloads; some for purchase in our on-line ILCA Store), including:
- ILCA Standards of Practice in English, German and French
- ILCA Position Paper on the Role and Impact of the IBCLC in English, Spanish, Croatian, Japanese and Russian
- Summary of the [WHO] International Code in English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, French, Russian and Croatian
- Most of the hugely-popular parent-oriented Inside Track columns in JHL (also on-line at the ILCA website for members) in English, Spanish, French, Croatian and Russian
- Clinical Guidelines for the Establishment of Exclusive Breastfeeding in English, French and German.
ILCA is seeking to expand its multi-language offerings, guided by the Multi-Lingual Committee, with members speaking 14 different languages. Consider joining this, or any of ILCA’s 15 other committees and panels. This volunteer work will enhance your leadership skills, build your curriculum vitae, and provide unequalled access to thought leaders in our profession. Your commitment of time, talent or treasure benefits you, benefits your colleagues, and strengthens our collective voice as ILCA.
International Activities
ILCA has the coveted non-governmental organization (NGO) status with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, and we look forward to continued opportunities to collaborate on public health policy-making. As one of five Core Partners with the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), ILCA works to promote and protect breastfeeding worldwide, and is pleased to co-sponsor the highly-esteemed annual Chris Mulford WABA ILCA Fellowship to support advocacy at WABA headquarters in Malaysia. ILCA liaisons at WHO, WABA (in addition to the Fellow), on our United Nations Breastfeeding Action Team, at the WHO National BFHI Coordinators Meetings and at Codex Alimentarius continue their work with breastfeeding protection, promotion, and support at the highest levels of public health policy-making.
Research
ILCA continues its commitment to providing funding, and publishing outlets, for evidence based research and writing about IBCLC practice. At the apex is our exemplary Journal of Human Lactation, a peer-reviewed journal with original research, case reports, commentaries and the popular Inside Track columns. ILCA research grants, oral presentations and poster displays (at the conference) provide members an opportunity to conduct research and exhibit their work.
What Else?
Membership in ILCA is about an investment in yourself — at the “micro” level — so that you become a part of something much larger — at the “macro” level. Visit our website to learn how you may:
- Advertise your services to mothers, or others who hire IBCLCs as speakers or for clinical instruction;
- Apply to become a Fellow of ILCA, a distinguished group of leader/mentors who have demonstrated continuous financial membership and proven leadership commitment to ILCA, in addition to professional excellence in the health care field;
- Participate in public- and member-only discussion boards, allowing a world full of colleagues to weigh in on your clinical questions, administrative comments or general queries;
- Seek financial assistance, or offer a tax-deductible contribution of your own, through ILCA conference scholarships, the Contributing Professional Program, our Partner Program, the Each One Reach One campaign, and our In Honor Of/In Memory Of Fund;
- Locate professional resources that include: templates for use in clinical charting and communication, reviews of books/DVDs/other materials of interest to the IBCLC (many of which can be purchased from ILCA’s On-line Store), slide presentations and free full-text resources for use in healthcare provider education;
- Obtain free downloads of IBCLC Day materials (celebrated the first Wednesday in March each year) — resources to promote yourself, and your profession;
- Find our hugely popular World Breastfeeding Week kits (for purchase) with free downloads (for members), adapted each year to be compatible with the theme announced by WABA;
- Locate professional , evidence-based documents to support your practice, from Risks of Not Breastfeeding, to Position Papers, to the pocket-sized Clinician’s Breastfeeding Triage Tool to Breastfeeding in Emergencies links and papers.
