The International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
One of the most important resources for your facility and your breastfeeding families is your local International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Overseen by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, the IBCLC is considered the Gold Standard in clinical lactation care because of The Code of Professional Conduct for IBCLCs, the Scope of Practice for IBCLCs, and the Clinical Competencies for the Practice of IBCLCs provide guidance for the profession. Let’s take a look at the history of the IBCLC and the role it played in the emerging field of lactation consulting.
The Birth of The IBCLC
The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) was founded in March 1985 using a $40,000 loan from La Leche League International as start-up funding. IBLCE’s founding was in response to the need for standards in the emerging profession of lactation consulting. This new profession had arisen during the 1970’s and 80’s in response to the need and request from mothers for specialized breastfeeding care. During this same time period, there was an increasing body of published information about the benefits of breastfeeding and mother support organisations, such as La Leche League International and the Nursing Mothers Association of Australia (now the Australian Breastfeeding Association), had developed and were utilizing an extensive repertoire of breastfeeding management skills.
The Founding of The NCCA
These factors of consumer demand, scientific evidence and practical clinical skills converged to create an ideal climate for the new profession and for standards that demonstrate the practitioner’s knowledge and skill to practice in the field of lactation consulting. At about the same time, the National Commission for Health Certifying Agencies (NCHCA) was launched with a grant given by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. NCHCA was founded with the goal of establishing self-regulation in the health care industry and its mission was to establish stringent guidelines for health certifying organizations and accredit those certification programs that met these guidelines. In 1994, NCHCA changed its named and became the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
NCCA Accreditation of the IBCLC
IBLCE utilized the NCCA accreditation standards from its inception and is one of only a few certifying organisations whose program was accredited by NCCA on its first application in the late 1980’s. IBLCE has been continuously accredited by NCCA since that time and is a non-profit 501(c)(6) certification board governed by a Board of Directors and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia, USA.
Final Thoughts..
Today, the IBLCE Board comprises professionals from all over the world, representing approximately 32,500 IBCLCs in 122 countries and territories. In order to promote healthier communities, we need to gain a better understanding of the importance of having an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in your community to provide expert breastfeeding and lactation care while working together with families, policy makers and other healthcare professionals. If you found this post informative then please don’t forget to share. You may also be interested in a previous post on Providing Breastfeeding Education to Mothers & Families.
Kathy
Referrences
- https://www.iblce.org
- https://www.ilca.org
