Pat,

The designation "CLC" has been alive and in use here in So California for
quite a while.  It is frustrating primarily because a few of the individuals
who so designate themselves with this title convey that they have some great
amount of knowledge of lactation training and experience which in some cases
just isn't the way it is.  There are a couple of programs that offer  these
CLC programs.  My biggest beef with them is the relatively few clinical hours
that are required for completion.  Most of us would agree that the more
mother/baby contact hours and actually working through problems a clinician
has, the greater the amount of skill would be expected. (Not always though...)
At any rate, I'm at a loss as to how those of us who have invested thousands
of hours and thousands of dollars can compete with somebody who decides to
call themself a CLC.  There is nothing that prevents anybody from doing that.
With our field in its relative infancy, the last thing we need is for the
profession to get a bad rap from underqualified self-proclaimed practitioners.
Enough ranting for now...but I am less than thrilled with those realities.

Gretchen Andrews, BA, LLLL, IBCLC
private practice, Redlands, CA