In Healthy Children's position paper, they are very clear that they consider the CLC and the IBCLC to be equal. In fact in much of their promotional material, they imply that the CLC is superior. From their website:


The Certified Lactation Counselor®, (CLC) certification is the premierNational Certification in Lactation Management for the United States. 


If you review this document comparing roles it is clear they do not market as an entry level "breastfeeding helper". 


"
http://www.healthychildren.cc/PDFs/positionPaper_compRoles.pdf


They also have a second one week course that makes you an "Advanced Lactation CONSULTANT".  


I think the intention is more than clear.  They are marketing as THE credential. 


And I come back to the question no one seems able to answer --how does a 1 week course confer a lactation credential? IMO, it suggests interest in breastfeeding, not clinical competency and certainly not a credential. 


Jennifer Tow, IBCLC





Date:    Tue, 12 Aug 2014 17:49:13 -0400
From:    Shannon Anderson <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: CLC/IBCLC

Hi,

This is my first time posting here but I would like to add something to this 
conversation as I am a CLC. 

I received my CLC through the Healthy Children Project trainings and they were 
very clear that I (we) were not to represent ourselves as IBCLCs and that we did 
NOT have the same amount of training or expertise as an IBCLC. They were very 
insistent that we remember that we are entry level helpers that can help with 
basic problems or with education but that we need to refer to IBCLCs once we saw 
red (even yellow) flags. 

In my area, most CLCs are fairly good at letting the public know we are not 
IBCLCs so we should not be treated as such. I do not have the expertise nor have 
demonstrated the same knowledge as an IBCLC though the exam.  We can help with 
the basics but that's about it. Maybe it's different in the rest of the country 
or other areas. 

Just my 2 cents. 

Shannon, RN CLC
Wisconsin






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