In a first-of-its-kind communication, on December 10, 2012 the
- International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA, the 6000-member professional association),
- International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE, which administers credentialing for 26,000 IBCLCs worldwide), and
- Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee (LEAARC, which approves short-term lactation-specific classes, and assists in accreditation of providers of college-level lactation education)
jointly sent a communication 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. Click here to read this important letter, and click here to view the recipients of this global communication.
Central to the revised Vision, Mission and Strategic Plan announced by ILCA in July 2012 is the promotion of the IBCLC credential and profession. ILCA, IBLCE and LEAARC are separate organizations, but each shares this strategic objective. The joint letter by ILCA-IBLCE-LEAARC is a tangible means of communicating to public health ministers, healthcare provider professional associations, and breastfeeding-support advocates the critical role the IBCLC can play as a member of the healthcare team.
Lactating women are everywhere, and almost all of them need support. Peer counselors, mother-to-mother groups, and healthcare providers who learned breastfeeding management from excellent educators can serve most mothers’ needs. But the IBCLC holds the essential credential for those families needing, instead, the specialized skill and expertise that IBCLC certification represents.
We encourage you, as an ILCA member, to share this letter with those who need to know more about your profession! You can download it from the ILCA website, along with a copy of the ILCA Position Paper on the Role and Impact of the IBCLC.
Sincerely, on behalf of the ILCA Board of Directors,
Liz Brooks JD IBCLC FILCA
President
