IBLCE FAQs



How will I know whether or not I will be taking the exam at a CBT centre?

The majority of exam candidates will take the exam at a CBT centre. There are some locations around the world where there are not sufficient CBT centres to accommodate IBLCE exam candidates. In those cases, IBLCE will provide paper and pencil exam sites. 

My CBT centre appointment is for 2:00 PM but my colleague has a 9:00 AM appointment. Why is my appointment so late in the day?

CBT centres deliver exams for many different organizations. The IBLCE exam is not the only exam being given at the CBT centre where you are scheduled to take the exam. Some IBLCE exam candidates will start the exam in the morning and others will start the exam later in the day.

What is the exam format?

The exam is composed of multiple choice questions. 

How do I know where the paper and pencil exam is being held?

Around 5-8 weeks before the exam you will receive your exam admission pack.  

Take 10 to Pass the IBLCE Exam the First Time 

1.      Know the exam content, rules and regs. You wouldn’t try to take your driver’s exam without reading the manual.

2.      Get a broad base of clinical experience. Some people can pass the IBLCE exam even with very limited clinical experience. IBLCE exam items can cover anything from the prenatal period to toddlerhood, so it will behoove you to have clinical experience in a wide variety of settings, and with a wide patient population.

3.      Take a comprehensive, 90-hour LEAARC-approved course. For strategies that will help you study effectively, be sure to attend a course that is specifically designed—and approved—as one that covers all of the topics and chronological areas of the IBLCE exam. Many IBLCE exam candidates accumulate the required 90 lactation-focused hours through what I call the “hodge-podge” approach. There’s nothing wrong with learning information we find interesting, but that won’t necessarily prepare you for the exam. A comprehensive course is your best bet for preparing for what truly is a comprehensive exam.

4.      Know your vocabulary. Landi’s study demonstrates the importance of vocabulary; she notes that vocabulary is “the single best predictor of comprehension ability…it has the highest correlation with comprehension ability.” For example, if an exam items asks about how a lipophilic drug affects the breastfeeding dyad, you’re sunk if you don’t know what the term lipophilic means.

5.      Know your photos. The majority of IBLCE exam items are photo-based. It is imperative that you know how to recognize classic signs of normal growth and development, typical signs associated with pathology that is common among lactating mothers, the hallmarks of an ideal latch, and much more.



6.      Recognize how most IBLCE exam items are constructed. Any high-stakes exam can be daunting. Most items you’ll see on the IBLCE exam follow a 3-part construction:
  1. Description of the circumstances.
  2. Description of what’s going on.
  3. Question about what you’re going to do about it.
If you are thinking—that this certification exam will primarily ask items of recall, you’re in for a surprise. The IBLCE exam, like many others that are designed to document the candidate’s ability to do a job safely, has mostly application-based exam items.

7.      Use effective study strategies. Active learning strategies have been shown to be effective, especially distributed practice and using practice tests. Distributed practice is the technique of studying during in several short sessions. Flash cards, a form of distributed practice, were shown to produce significantly higher exam scores overall among undergraduates who used them compared with peers who did not.


8.      Learn test-taking strategies. If you are very knowledgeable and confident about a particular test item, it is simple. If you have no idea what the correct answer is, you can still get it right if you some good test-taking strategies. Test-Taking Strategies helps with this.

9.      Score at least 80 % on a practice exam. Studies show that doing practice exams activates information retrieval responses in the brain.

10.  Identify and deal with test anxiety before the exam. Anxiety is an emotion. Barrie St. John’s audio self-hypnosis program Exam Success, is perfect for when you are preparing to take the IBLCE exam.
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