Episode
Preparing to Be an IBCLC©, Not Just Pass the Exam
- Podcast
- The Evolve Lactation Podcast
- Published
- Apr 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 757
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-evolve-lactation-podcast-7095072/episodes/preparing-to-be-an-ibclc-not-just-pass-the-exam/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-evolve-lactation-podcast-7095072/preparing-to-be-an-ibclc-not-just-pass-the-exam.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
*I am in no way affiliated with the IBCLC Commission or IBLCE (other than actively holding the IBCLC credential) and do not purport to speak on their behalf. You can find information about the IBCLC credential at www.ibclc-commission.org . It may be helpful to consider the process of becoming an IBCLC© in terms of “hard and soft skills.” * Preparing to actually be a board-certified lactation consultant takes so much more than just meeting the requirements to sit for and pass the exam. Think of the requirements as the “hard skills”: the lactation-specific education, the health science knowledge, and the clinical hours. The soft skills are what make you effective. Your ability to counsel someone, your approach to teaching people, your communication skills and methods - these are the building blocks of skilled lactation care. You may have acquired these in the process of earning your current qualifications or licenses. Clinical lactation care adds more to the equation. Almost anyone could memorize some lactation facts and pass an exam. But the practice of skilled lactation care as an IBCLC isn’t about memorizing facts. We don’t tell our clients what to do , and in that way, we are pretty different than many other health care professionals. We educate and offer suggestions, we teach clinical skills and techniques, we create plans with our clients for navigating their lactation journeys, and we provide encouragement and human connection. Behind the scenes, we read and interpret research using critical reasoning and thinking skills, we apply and integrate knowledge about the current public health environment, and we endeavor to practice ethically and without conflicts of interest that would bias our care. Skilled, clinical lactation care combines the ability to listen; to te…