What is an IBCLC?

Now that we have established times you may need to call an IBCLC, what exactly is an IBCLC? IBCLC stands for International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. That’s right, it is an international certification. How cool is that? Our values and Code of Conduct are shared worldwide.

IBCLC is the gold standard and highest certification for lactation care. The credential, established in 1986, was born out of La Leche League’s mother-to-mother support group. Although the certification is relatively new, the art and science of breastfeeding support is as old as mankind itself. Mother and infant care was firmly rooted in cultural norm of women caring for women. As societies industrialized, birthing transitioned from women-led care at home to medical facilities with physicians. Nurseries and milk substitutes were introduced. Society was enamored with the bright and shiny “advancements” in maternal and infant care. But these advancements came with a cost—the transfer of knowledge from woman to woman, generation to generation, was dangerously close to being lost for a bit. The breastfeeding initiation rate when La Leche League was founded hovered around 25%, one of our lowest rates in U.S. history. This meant that moms were breastfeeding at even lower rates in the months following birth.