I don't this this case is that clear cut.  I really don't.

But I do know that extra time in any formal exam, has to be of a set
length, in order to accommodate the stringent security provisions of
exams.  It's simply not feasible to allow unlimited, flexible time.
What if the baby took two hours to feed and settle?

I'm also not sure that having a baby in an exam, is an option.  Babies
cry, they poo, they throw up.  That is not fair on either the mother
taking the exam, or the other examinees.

I think this is a real rock and hard place situation.  My instinct, from
someone who has had to have separate exam procedures set up for me, due
to my dyslexia, would be that the nursing mother is allowed into a
separate room, with a proctor.  But I'm still not sure that's the best
solution for the mother.  Caring for a small baby, for 2 and a half
hours can be a walk in the park.  It can also be a non-stop care role
for two and a half hours.  There is no way of knowing, how that baby is
going to be, for those precise two and a half hours.  If the mother has
spent 2 hours caring for an unsettled child, how can she do her best in
an exam?

As I said, rock and hard place.  It's fine to theorise that the baby is
going to be fast asleep during the two and a half hours.  But the
reality might be a tad more disruptive!  :-)  Perhaps the mother could
be in a separate room, with the proctor, and the care giver could bring
the baby in for a feed.  That's covered by the regulations I just read -
but the mother has to find the room.  IBCLE will pay for the extra
proctor, but not the room.  But it still doesn't address that 'extra
time' allowance, must be of a fixed period.  Two and a half hours isn't
that long between feeds, if the baby is in the hands of a familiar care
giver, 'tho.

Morgan Gallagher


Pat Young wrote:
> Oh for heaven's sake!  I think IBLCE needs to get with the program.
> Maybe a separate room for mothers and babies OR give nursing mom extra
> time equal to amount spent  out of room breastfeeding.
>
> What this mom is saying is basically correct. We are using  a double
> cultural standard.  We expect examinees to have absolute quiet in
> which to test (people who should be able to tolerate small infant
> noises) and we penalize nursing moms by making them do the test in
> less time than everyone else!  Does anyone else see the irony here?
> Pat in SNJ
>

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