How Long Does it Take to Become an IBCLC?

Becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is a wonderful career option. However, some believe it’s an “easy” credential to get that you can pass off pretty quickly to add to your list of credentials.

While the pathway to becoming an IBCLC can vary depending on prior education and work experience, it can take quite a bit of time to meet all the requirements to sit for the IBCLC exam that is administered by IBLCE. While there are some “loopholes” some medical professionals take when getting this certification when you do it in the most honest way possible, it does take time.

This article will discuss the various pathways to becoming an IBCLC and how much time you can reasonably expect to invest in each step. From completing courses and taking exams to getting supervised clinical experience, I’ll cover it all so that you can make an informed decision about becoming an IBCLC. I will also look at some of the challenges along the way so that you know them before starting your journey.

⭐️ Bottom Line: Becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) requires a combination of education, experience, and examination. The process typically takes several years, but the exact time frame depends on an individual’s circumstances and professional background.

Survey Says…

I asked in an IBCLC Exam prep group I am in about how long it took everyone to meet all the requirements, and these were the results:

• 3% – less than a year
• 27% – one year
• 39% – two years
• 11% – three years
• 14% – four years
• 6% – five years

Several mentioned that it would take longer if you weren’t already in a medical profession, which I would agree with. Once I started on the process, it took me about two years. I don’t have a medical background, but I do have a bachelor’s degree that provided me with most of my required college classes.

Accumulating the required hours often is what takes the longest. Finding a mentor or someone to oversee your hours can take time, and if you are fortunate enough to find someone who will help you, the hours aren’t always consistent.

Lactation Education:

IBCLC candidates must complete 90 hours of lactation-specific education and five communication hours specific to lactation. This education can be obtained through various sources, such as college courses, workshops, and online programs. Many of them are paid, but plenty of free courses are available – it just takes more work to piece together all those hours.

Quite a few programs are designed to help you get the necessary hours. The most popular include:

• Lactation Education Resources
• Healthy Children Project
• Marie Biancuzzo
• GOLD Learning
• Pathway 2 – if you choose to do Pathway 2 through an accredited lactation program, they will provide all the required hours

This will take about 95 hours, give or take, depending on the program. If you are studying full-time, you could finish this in a matter of weeks, but from what I’ve observed, most people take six months to a year to complete their lactation education.

Health Science Credits:

You must have 14 Health Science Credits in various classes. This can take a bit of time to get through, though some classes can count for more than one credit. Many of them can also be taken online.

If you already have some college education, you may have some of the classes already covered. If you are starting from scratch, it will probably take you about a year to complete everything, though this can vary depending on how

I talk about various pathways to getting your classes in my Lactation Consultant Made Easy eBook bundle. This is what overwhelmed me a lot at first, but when I took a close look at the requirements, it ended up being easier and less expensive than I anticipated. I personally had three classes I needed to take that I didn’t already have from my undergraduate program, and I was able to take them all for under $200 total from home.

With Pathway 2, you work with an accredited program that provides you with all the classes you need to take, along with all the other requirements.

Experience:

In addition to lactation-specific education, IBCLC candidates must accumulate a certain number of hours working with breastfeeding dyads. This experience must be completed within five years before taking the IBCLC certification examination.

For pathway one, you must achieve 1000 hours. This can be done through your existing job if you are a healthcare provider, or through an organization like La Leche League or Breastfeeding USA.

The hours are supposed to be in direct contact with breastfeeding dyads. However, with the healthcare provider option, there isn’t much (if any) oversight and many self-report these hours. Many great IBCLCs have gotten certified through this pathway, but I have also seen a lot of people mark off more of their work hours than they probably should have. I believe it’s important and valuable to have someone more knowledgeable than yourself monitor your hours and teach you new skills. But as it stands, Pathway 1 is usually what many healthcare providers choose to do.

For Pathway 2, the organization which you get your education through will arrange your internship and mentorship hours. You will be directly supervised by an IBCLC in good standing and you have to get 300 total hours before you can sit for the exam.

With Pathway 3, you have to get 500 total supervised hours. These must be in direct contact with breastfeeding dyads, and you must be supervised by an IBCLC. I honestly wish this IBLCE would make this the only pathway – and make it easier to obtain mentorship hours. I do believe that directly supervised and mentored hours build better lactation consultants and expose you to a variety of experiences.

Examination:

The final step to becoming an IBCLC is passing the IBCLC certification examination. This rigorous exam tests a candidate’s knowledge of lactation management and care. The exam is offered twice a year. You have to apply months in advance and ALL of your requirements must be completed before applying.

Once you’ve taken the exam, it takes about three months to get the results from the exam to find if you’ve passed.

Bottom Line

The amount of time it takes to meet all the requirements varies greatly. If you are already working in a healthcare position where you work with breastfeeding families, then it could easily take less than year. However, if you are starting from scratch with no prior college, no healthcare job, etc., it may take quite a bit of time.

With all this said, as far as careers go, the time invested is lower than required for some medical professions. With the right approach, you can have a great career in a matter of years.

How long did it take you to become a lactation consultant? Let me know in the comments!