Lactation Program Review: 

Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeding’s  

Lactation Counselor Training Course & CLC Certification

By Anonymous

Submitted May 29, 2016
Published February 6, 2018

How long did it take you to complete the program? 5 days

Certification or Certificate Offered – Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC)

Delivery of Program – In-person

Books & Materials Required – The Pocket Guide for Lactation Management by Karin Cadwell, 2nd edition (can be purchased on Amazon from about $25-$35 or purchased at class for $55). A course guide with an outline of all instruction along with a resource appendix is free and included in course costs.

Cost of Program (Including books, materials, application fees, etc.) – $730-800

# of L-CERPs, Nursing Contact Hours, CEUs, CPEs, etc. offered – 45 Nursing contact hours, L-CERPs, CPEs; 4.5 CEUs for CNMs

Do this program’s hours meet partial or full requirements for the IBCLC exam’s lactation specific training requirement? Yes, they fulfill partial hours (45 out of 90 hours required).

What did you like about the program?

The instructors were very knowledgeable and kind. They seemed to enjoy teaching very much. They were always happy to answer any questions the students had. Even though I have worked in the medical field for 16 years and breastfed two children I learned a lot of things I didn’t know. They presented it in a way that was easily understood even if you didn’t have a medical background or had never breastfed before . They didn’t overload us with homework at night, what homework we did have was interesting and helpful to our learning .

What did you dislike about the program?

They said many times during the week this course would focus mostly on the counseling aspect, and it seemed to for the most part, but the exam questions were based mostly on the medical aspect. I also felt we should have watched more videos on a proper latch so we would be better prepared for the LAT/video portion of our exam. I wasn’t as confident about the LAT portion as I was the multiple choice part of the exam. I also felt sorry for anyone taking the multiple choice who didn’t have a very solid medical background..

How rigorous/time consuming did you find the program?

My kids are older so they stayed with family . I booked a hotel near the training site. I did take off work of course because the training site was two hours from my hometown. I felt it was very comprehensive and I was a little brain dead by bedtime every night , but it was doable if you stay focused.

What would you change about the program?

I would incorporate more latch videos with each training day. If you aren’t a visual learner you may struggle with trying to spot what was wrong or right about the videos in the short amount of time we had to asses the videos then write down what we saw . I would also ENSURE the testing area on the day of the test had no excess noise. Our testing area had an enormous amount of excess noise nearby and the instructors were aware of that noise problem during our classes all week. We voiced our concerns that this noise would be untolerable while taking a test. They told us it would be taken care of but wasn’t . I feel if they had been more proactive earlier in the week by test day we wouldn’t have had that problem.

Would you recommend this program to others?

Yes, I think the instructors were on target with what they taught. I would just tell others to watch ALOT of videos on a baby latching on , proper latch, poor latch so they would be better prepared for the exam .

Knowing what you know now, would you take this program again? Yes

Do you feel the course and/or certification helped you obtain your goals?

Yes, I wanted to obtain my CLC for private practice . And I feel this course was a great start.

Additional comments?

Require a quiet test area on test day. You paid a great deal for this course and most people traveled to get there, and took time away from their families . So you deserve a good environment for test day.

Does your program/credential require you to recertify? If so, how long does the credential last and what is required to recertify? My CLC credential lasts is good for 3 years. Recertification requires 18 hours of continuing education.

Would you like to write a review of a Lactation Training Program that you’ve taken? If so, don’t be shy! You can access the review form directly from Galactablog. Or directly online via Google Forms here.

**Disclaimer – The views and opinions expressed in this review are those of the author and do not reflect those of Galactablog. It’s also important to note that these views are not the only source of information about this particular lactation training program. See here for more program details on Healthy Children’s Lactation Counselor Training Course, along with comparison of similar Lactation Training Programs. If you’re interested in Lactation Training Programs that offer a clinical practice component, see here.