I have seen a bunch of nurses in the Facebook groups I am in state that they felt it was more complex than the NCLEX.

Now, I’ve never taken that exam – but from what I understand, they are just very different exams. I think the format may be more difficult depending on the type of person taking it.

I see a lot of people asking how difficult the IBCLC exam is, which is a tricky question (funny—because I feel like the IBCLC exam is all about tricky questions). I thought I would try to answer this question and share my opinion on how hard this exam is.

The Questions are Tricky

One of the hardest parts about the IBCLC exam is how nuanced the questions are. The exam doesn’t just ask you to recall facts; it challenges you to apply knowledge in clinical scenarios that aren’t always black and white. You’ll often come across questions where all the answers seem somewhat right, but you’re tasked with finding the most correct one. It’s about critical thinking and knowing not just the basics of lactation but how to navigate complex situations where things don’t always go by the book.

The Most Right Answer

As I mentioned, you’ll often face a question where multiple answers seem plausible. This is where things get tricky. The IBCLC exam loves to test your foundational knowledge and how well you understand subtle differences between similar concepts. For example, a question may give you four treatment options that are all technically correct in certain situations. Still, only one is the best answer, given the specific details of the case presented. It’s a test of judgment as much as knowledge.

It’s Not All About Memorization

If you excel at memorizing facts, that’s great, but the IBCLC exam will push you beyond simple recall. Yes, you’ll need to know protocols, anatomy, and guidelines, but the exam goes a step further, testing how well you can integrate that knowledge in real-life scenarios. You might know what to do in a perfect world, but the exam is designed to see how you respond when things aren’t going perfectly—when a baby isn’t latching well, when a mom has conflicting medical conditions, or when cultural factors come into play.

Bottom Line

In my opinion, the IBCLC exam isn’t a great measure of how good of a lactation consultant you are or will be. It’s tough, yes, but that doesn’t mean it reflects your ability to help families with breastfeeding. The exam feels more about navigating tricky, situational questions than showcasing your hands-on skills or ability to provide compassionate support. Passing the exam is a huge accomplishment, but remember, your real growth as an IBCLC comes from working with families, not just answering multiple-choice questions.

The IBCLC exam is hard, but don’t let that intimidate you. It’s one part of your journey, and while it feels like a mountain, it’s only a stepping stone towards what truly matters—helping families and making a difference in their breastfeeding journeys.

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“What are the best resources for preparing for the IBCLC exam?”

I have seen this comment many times over the past year or so in various Facebook groups I am in. It was a question I asked as well while I prepared to take the exam.

There are many resources – both free and paid – available for preparing for the exam. I used various ones (some better than others), and I felt very well-prepared for the exam. I ended up getting an 88% on the test, which I credit to the prep I did.

While there are different options available, here are some of my favorite resources that I used to prepare for the IBCLC exam:

Lactation College

This resource is incredibly and 100% free. Lactation College is a Substack that you can subscribe to. It is run by an RN and IBCLC who is very skilled in lactation education. She hosts a couple of sessions a year leading up to both the fall and spring IBCLC exam test dates.

During each “session”, she sends out three posts a week focusing on varying topics that may be on the IBCLC exam. They are very easy to read – yet thorough – and she also includes occasional quizzes at the end of each category.

You can also go back to the previous posts from past sessions in case a current one isn’t live.

I learned SO much from Lactation College, and I am so grateful for the amount of time and effort the author has put into it.

You can subscribe here for free. I got the emails each week, but those often get mixed up with all my other emails, so I preferred to just log in to the Substack app.

Whenever I would take one of her quizzes, I would copy the question and answer of anything I got wrong into my notes app on my phone. From here, I would regularly review those responses.

She does have a paid subscription which gives you access to “Research Thursday” and a few other things, but for all the exam prep, it is free.

Lactation Education Resources

I have always been a huge fan of Lactation Education Resources (LER). I become a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist through them, and they were very helpful throughout the whole process.

They have a lot of different education options for aspiring and current lactation professionals, and I’ve always found it very helpful.

LER offers a couple of exam prep options for those studying for the IBCLC exam:

• IBCLC Exam Review – $99
• IBCLC Exam Review Enriched – $199

Each of these options includes six-month access, an exclusive Facebook group (which is fantastic), digital flash cards, over 550 instant-feedback questions, and a self-study schedule.

The enhanced version included worksheets and answer keys on specific topics, 32 video lessons based on the exam review guidelines, and 27 case studies.

I loved this review. I purchased the enriched, which I found very useful. I didn’t go through all of the lessons, but I referenced quite a few of them over and over again as I discovered my weaker topics.

The BEST part of their review, though, are the questions. There are tons of questions, and you get instant responses on not just if you got it right or wrong but the reason why the other answers were wrong, resources for further study, etc. They allow comments from others on each of the questions, too, which I found helpful.

The format of the questions is VERY similar to the questions on the IBCLC exam, and I found the pictures to be very similar, too. One thing about the IBCLC exam is that there are a lot of images that are just kind of confusing, blurry, or not high-quality. LER had similar questions at time (which some complained about), but I felt like it helped me recognize what I should focus on – which wasn’t always what the picture was showing.

The questions on the IBCLC exam can be tricky, and a lot of the time, it’s about picking the most right answer. I feel like the quizzes really helped prepare me for that.

Click here to learn more.

The Breastfeeding Atlas

This is one of the top-recommended resources I see, and I’m glad that I got it. While it’s jam-packed with great information – and that alone is a great review for the exam and just lactation knowledge in general – the image library is what is most valuable.

It has hundreds of pictures – with textual references so you can see what they are referring to. Half the IBCLC exam is images, and you really need to know your stuff in order to ace this part of the test. I actually wish I would have spent even more time reviewing the images in The Breastfeeding Atlas because it really shows you so many different disorders, diseases, and conditions of the breast – along with many things related to infants.

I had heard of others taking the images out and turning them into flashcards, which I think would have been smart.

There are a lot of exam prep options out there, but these are the ones that worked the best for me. I would love to hear your experiences in the comments!

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