Education Requirements

What professional education in lactation must I undertake?

You must have completed and documented a minimum of 45 hours of continuing education in lactation reflecting the exam blueprint, within the three years immediately prior to taking the exam. IBLCE strongly recommends that all candidates undertake a comprehensive education course, to ensure that each discipline is studied to the depth and breath that is required to be a competent clinician. However, if you will be doing the exam in a language other than English, you must have completed a minimum of 60 hours of professional education in lactation. (This is because the body of literature on breastfeeding and lactation is predominately in English. Candidates who are not able to study these materials in their primary language have been shown to need significantly more pre exam education hours to achieve a similar standard of exam performance. The 60 hour minimum is being increased to 80 hours by 2010).

From 2010 in the Asia Pacific Region your professional study must be within 5 years immediately prior to taking the exam. This is introduction with the NEW eligibility criteria. Click here for more information.

Can I include private study in my hours?
Private study – many hours over a one to three year period is also a major component of exam preparation for all candidates, but private study is not counted in the 45 hours and no documentation is required.

See the Candidate Information Guide (CIG) for more details. You can Click Here to download a copy of the CIG (please note it is 28 page long). If you would like a hard copy sent to you please contact the IBLCE Office admin@iblce.edu.au don't forget to tell us your postal address and we will post you a copy. Candidate Guides are not printed until the September/October the year before the exam so if you request one before the print we will be happy to put you on our 'Priority One' mailing list.

If you need some suggestions for education courses you can download the Guide to Lactation courses or contact the Regional Office.