Actually, certification is the vanguard position as far as consumer
protection is concerned.  Licenses tend to be confered in perpetuity so long
as fees are paid and you don't kill anyone.  Some US states require CEs for
licensed professionals, some do not.  As a guarantor of continued competancy
(always a bit of a crap shoot and certainly an emerging science in its own
right) , certification (with the requirements certification boards generally
insist upon for CEs and re-examination) is clearly the winner in the studies
I've seen in terms of reliability in predicting that the certificant is
staying current with advances in the field.  There are governmental and
consumer agencies who study these issues, and there is a body of published
work on licensure vs certification which is available for anyone's perusal.
As the result of analysis of this literature, many fields are moving in the
direction of requiring licensed people to become certified in their fields
as well.

The issue is not to disparage the work of non-licensed or non-certified
individuals.  It is to try to come to consensus on how those of us who are
working (as in supporting families) on our salaries as LCs can best be
trained and over-seen to provide quality service to families who seek
professional (as opposed to peer) support.  This does not denigrate peer
support. Most women who require professional support would greatly profit
from additional peer support.

No one is saying just because someone isn't an RN or an IBCLC they can't
help mothers.

 BTW,  I have never had any of my education, my conf. fees, travel, or any
of my exam fees covered by any institution.  I never expected anyone but me
to pay my own way educationally.  In the early days of the profession, my
husband thought it was a real long shot that I'd ever be able to be employed
at this, and was extremely negative about investing scarce family resources
in my LC education.  Consequently I earned the money I needed myself,
babysitting and free-lance writing.  It made me stronger.

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates, Austin, Texas
http://www.jump.net/~bwc/lactnews.html

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