What is an IBCLC?

An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is a health care professional who specializes in the clinical management of breastfeeding.

IBCLCs are certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, Inc. under the direction of the US National Commission for Certifying Agencies. IBCLCs work in a wide variety of health care settings, including hospitals, pediatric offices, public health clinics, and private practice.

 

IBCLCs are:

  • Recognized the world over as possessing the only standardized, board-certified lactation credential available

  • Knowledgeable about up-to-date evidence-based practices in lactation as demonstrated through a rigorous exam process and re-certification every five years

  • Experienced in a wide variety of complex breastfeeding situations

  • Competent to assist parents with establishing and sustaining breastfeeding, even in the midst of difficulties and high-risk situations that can arise

  • Sensitive to the needs of both parents and children as they work to help parents meet their breastfeeding goals

  • Ethical in their practice, abiding by Standards of Practice and a Code of Ethics and working within a defined Scope of Practice

 

Experience you can trust

For almost 40 years, IBCLCs have provided high-quality lactation care and services to new parents and infants. More than 35,000 IBCLCs practice worldwide as vital members of the health care team in hospitals, neonatal intensive care units, special nurseries, public health agencies, private clinics, government offices, and private practice. They work hand-in-hand with prenatal and postpartum providers to help new families meet their breastfeeding goals, and to help hospitals establish and support protocols for exclusive breastfeeding.

 

Marsha Walker, a renown IBCLC, writes, “Why hire an IBCLC?”

“While at first glance the services of an IBCLC Lactation Consultant may seem pricey and out of the range of many families in a tight economy, we should also realize that the return on this investment can be priceless. Most of our health services are reimbursed by insurance companies or employers who are self-insured. An up-front $300 investment for a family can save them $2000 in formula costs, hundreds of dollars because they do not need to miss time off from work to care for a sick infant, hundreds of dollars because they do not need to pay co-pays for physician visits, and the savings that accrue from the avoidance of big ticket items like childhood obesity, diabetes, and other acute and chronic diseases. That $300 investment in a child’s health lasts a lifetime.”