Lactation Educator Training

Make a difference in the health of mothers and infants and add to your professional credentials through our Foundations for Best Practice in Lactation Care (FBPLC) course. 

Length of course: 5 days.
Campus: Kenmore, Washington

About Our Lactation Educator Training

A complete, in-person core program to begin practice in evidence-based breastfeeding and lactation care. This five-day course is essential education for any healthcare professional or individual who works with new mothers and their newborns, or as the beginning process for becoming a lactation consultant (IBCLC). The class provides you with the first 45 foundation hours for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) certification exam. To learn more about becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, please visit the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners' website.

This course is designed for health care providers and lay people who want to provide accurate, current and consistent information about breastfeeding and lactation to expectant and new families. Content is based on current research as it applies to best practice issues in the clinical setting. In addition to attending all lectures, students complete a written study guide and outline a project of their choice.

Completion of FBPLC provides a Lactation Educator Certificate.

This Course is Intended For:

  • midwives and midwifery students
  • birth and postpartum doulas
  • childbirth educators
  • maternity or pediatric nurses
  • obstetricians, pediatricians or family physicians
  • WIC staff
  • early parenting educators
  • perinatal social workers
  • Early Headstart staff
  • La Leche League leaders who want updates and new scientific resources
  • public health nurses or staff working with new families
  • occupational or respiratory therapists working with breastfeeding newborns
  • dieticians serving pregnant women, new mothers and their babies
  • preparation for re-certification

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are approved from:

  • International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, Provider Number: CLT108-4 - 45 CERPs (43L & 2E)
  • Instructional hours in topics on IBLCE Detailed Content Outline - 45 Hours
  • California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number: CEP 14127 (RNs Only) - 45 Contact Hours
  • Commission on Dietetic Registration CPE Hours, Category II, Provider Number: EV001 - 45 CPE Hours (Expires: May 31, 2024)
  • All Evergreen Perinatal Education LLC courses follow the IBCLC Detailed Content Outline. And Evergreen Perinatal Education has been accepted by International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners® (IBLCE®) as a CERP provider for the listed Continuing Education Recognition Points (CERPs) programme. Determination of CERPs eligibility or CERPs Provider status does not imply IBLCE®’s endorsement or assessment of education quality.

 

Training Details

Our Foundations for Best Practice in Lactation Care training is a five-day course. 

Modules include:

  • Talking to Pregnant Women about Feeding their Babies: Breastfeeding Promotion
  • Culture: Belief or Best Practice or Both?
  • Prenatal Assessment for Breastfeeding: What to Look for in the Physical Exam
  • The Wonders of Human Milk: Why Breastmilk and Breastfeeding Matter
  • Human Milk and the Development of the Immune System: Consequences of Formula Feeding
  • Getting Families Started Breastfeeding: Evidence-Based Care
  • Position and Attachment for First Feedings: Evidence or Opinion?
  • Normal Breastfeeding Patterns and Growth and Development: The Baby 0-3 Months Old
  • The Anatomy and Hormones of Milk Production: The Influence of Early Care
  • Challenging Feedings: Good Problem Solving
  • Early Clinical Challenges: Nipple Pain Beyond Physiologic Nipple and Breast Infection
  • Common Questions about Nutrition During Lactation
  • Caring For Babies Who are Born Early: Breastfeeding the Preterm, Very Preterm Infant
  • Common Questions about Medications During Lactation
  • The Late Preterm and "Supposedly" Term Infant: Now Official "Early Term" Somewhere Between Term & Preterm Infants
  • Tools and Techniques of the Trade
  • Non-Infectious Mastitis: Engorgement, Plugged Ducts Chronic Inflammation
  • Safe Sleep and the Conflict with Biology and Culture
  • Growth and Development: 3-6 Months Old
  • Caring for the Infant with Hyperbilirubinemia: What Role Does Breastfeeding Play?
  • Insufficient Milk Volumes & Slow Gaining Infants: Is it Intake or Supply? (3 hours)
  • Relationships in the Breastfeeding Family
  • Breastfeeding Women Who Return to Work: Describe Some of the Challenges of Breastfeeding and Working Outside the Home
  • Breastfeeding Six Months and Beyond: The Biologic End of Breastfeeding

 

All topics from the IBCLC Detailed Content Outline, Technical Reports & Studies are covered. A specific breakdown of CERP hours is available upon request.

Module Learning Objectives are available at http://www.evergreenperinataleducation.com/programs/lactation/healthcare/

Recommended Reading

There are many excellent reference books available. If you wish to purchase books before the course, we recommend starting with one of the following:

  • Breastfeeding and Human Lactation (2004) by Jan Riordan
  • The Breastfeeding Answers 2nd edition (2020) by Nancy Mohrbacher and Julie Stock
  • Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession by Ruth Lawrence (this book is very "medical" in its writing and message)

Faculty

The Simkin Center Foundations for Best Practice in Lactation Care is led by board-certified lactation consultants. See our Simkin Center faculty. 

Upcoming Trainings

Foundations for Best Practice in Lactation Care (23291)

Sep
19
Monday, 2022
Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations
In-person, five-day core program to begin practice in evidence-based breastfeeding and lactation care for anyone who works with new mothers and their newborns; or as the beginning process for becoming a lactation consultant (IBCLC). You’ll learn to provide accurate, current and consistent information about breastfeeding and lactation and to support new families in feeding their babies from birth through the process of weaning. See below the topics that will be discussed over a period of five days. Participants will be required to provide proof of vaccination and comply with mask requirements. If you have any questions regarding this training or attending in-person classes at Bastyr University, please call us at 425-602-3361. This training will take place, September 19-23, 2022, Monday to Friday, 8:00am-5:30pm. Cost $959.
Register Now
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Location: Kenmore Campus

What Our Students Say

  • It really is the gold standard for doulas. I would take it again, just to stay on top of information. The instructors together are super. The normal ups and downs of breast feeding are well within scope of practice for the birth and postpartum doula. However, I now know when to refer for out of scope issues ... it helped clarify the doula scope and helped me gain confidence in my skills. This is the best workshop to take!
  • I wanted to let you know that I passed the IBLCE exam, and am now an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant! Part of my preparation was to take the [Simkin Center] Professional Education in Breastfeeding and Lactation workshop.
  • I have been a labor and delivery nurse for 17 years and was recently hired on as lactation staff in our hospital. The experience and knowledge gained [in the workshop] will have a tremendous impact on the way I practice and the information I give parents. I wish I’d had this same course years ago … even in nursing school.
  • Knowledgeable, compassionate instructors are what the [Simkin Center] is all about. I am constantly impressed with the quality of your programs.

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