Need Lactation Education Credits?
Lactation College Can Help
We provide online CERPs, CEUs, and CMEs with each of our courses.
Come Learn With Us
Check out our courses and get started!
Practice Exam #1: General Knowledge
Studying for the IBCLC exam? Research shows that practice exams are a great way to prepare for real exams. They support the student in retrieving information they know, and help the learner identify areas which they don't fully understand. This quiz has 50 questions, some including photographs, and students will get full explanations of all incorrect answers. While the quiz is a great educational tool, educational credits are not provided.
Medications & Human Milk
Understand lactational pharmacology and how to evaluate medication safety for breastfeeding families
Instructor: Mary Foley, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Credit Information: 1 L-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: IV. Pharmacology and Toxicology, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Human Milk Composition
Dive into the makeup of human milk, from carbohydrates to fats to proteins, minerals, vitamins and other special components
Instructor: Barbara L. Philipp, MD, FAAP, FABM
Credit Information: 1 L-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: I. Development and Nutrition, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Communication: Having Meaningful Conversations
Review the pathways and common barriers to communication, and learn how to improve your listening and conversational skills
Instructor: Mary Foley, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Credit Information: 1 R-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: VII. Clinical Skills, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
This review of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders provides a better understanding of common mental health complications associated with pregnancy and birth and how to best address them.
Instructor: Michelle Visser, LMHC, CEIS
Credit Information: 1 L-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: V. Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Seeing Yellow: Understanding Hyperbilirubinemia
This goal of this review is to help you understand bilirubin, causes of high bilirubin levels in the newborn and how to treat it.
Instructor: Barbara L. Philipp, MD, FAAP, FABM
Credit Information: 1 L-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: III. Pathology, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Baby-Friendly and the Code
Learn about the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and the Code. Dr. Philipp shares practical tips that can be used to elicit change in the hospital setting.
Instructor: Barbara L. Philipp, MD, FAAP, FABM
Credit Information: 1 L-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: VII. Clinical Skills, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Twenty Years Baby-Friendly: Personal Reflections on Change
Dr. Philipp reviews policy changes and new programs implemented over twenty years since her hospital’s Baby-Friendly designation. As she says, “Cut a cake and celebrate.”
Instructor: Barbara L. Philipp, MD, FAAP, FABM
Credit Information: 1 L-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: VII. Clinical Skills, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Infant Formula Recall and Crisis: What’s the Scoop and Who’s to Blame?
Dive into the bacteria, Cronobacter sakazakii, and the problems it causes if it finds its way into powder infant formula. Learn why a recall at one manufacturing plant in Michigan led to a nationwide shortage of infant formula and why the crisis disproportionately impacted poor and Black families.
Instructor: Barbara L. Philipp, MD, FAAP, FABM
Credit Information: 1 E-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: VII. Clinical Skills, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Baby Café USA
This course will help you learn all about the Baby Café model.
Instructor: Lucia Jenkins, Executive Director of Baby Café USA
Credit Information: 1 L-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: V. Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Skin-to-Skin Contact: The First Hour and Beyond
Learn about the basics of skin-to-skin contact after birth, the benefits and how to practice it safely.
Instructor: Mary Foley, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Credit Information: 1 L-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: VI. Techniques, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Ethics in Lactation Care
Learn ethical principles and common challenges faced by lactation care specialists. Learn about misfeasance, malfeasance and more. Course concludes with a discussion between two IBCLCs on how to handle some ethical dilemmas.
Instructor: Mary Foley, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Credit Information: 1 E-CERP, Detailed Content Outline: VII. Clinical Skills / Ethical and Legal Issues, 1 CLC, 1 CEU (Nursing Education), 1 CME (Provider Education)
Meet the Founders
Barbara L. Philipp, MD, FAAP, FABM is Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine and a Hospitalist in the Division of Newborn Medicine at Boston Medical Center. She is an award- winning educator and passionate breastfeeding advocate.
Mary Foley, RN, BSN, IBCLC is a registered nurse and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant working in both hospital-based and private practice settings. She is a breastfeeding champion, an in-demand clinician and a sought-after teacher.
How Lactation College Started
Dr. Barbara Philipp started the Lactation College newsletters in January, 2021. Dr. Philipp is a passionate breastfeeding advocate who has committed her 40-year career to advancing the interests of the breastfeeding community through her teaching and public education.
Working as a pediatrician in an urban setting, Dr. Philipp became increasingly aware, not only of the disparities related to breastfeeding initiation and duration rates, but of the disparities in the field of lactation itself. Her vision was to create a newsletter that would take important and sometimes complicated topics related to breastfeeding, break them down into understandable, easy-to-remember lessons with key points, and make them available to learners around the globe. And what if it was free?
Using the online platform, Substack, Dr. Philipp began her breastfeeding lessons. Though unsure how many people would be interested, within the first year Lactation College went viral. Two years later, the Lactation College on Substack has almost 7,000 subscribers.
In 2022, Dr. Philipp further envisioned a platform where she could take her down-to-earth teaching style to the next level, and offer courses for educational credits. She partnered with her long-time friend and colleague, Mary Foley, a registered nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. A breastfeeding advocate herself for over 30 years, Mary shared the vision of bringing breastfeeding education to the health care community and was delighted to join Dr. Philipp in this venture.
And here we are!
We hope you find this site useful. Our goal is to advance the education and training of lactation consultants, nurses, physicians and other health care providers in order to enhance the delivery of lactation care in the communities where we live and work. Our aim is to keep this education affordable so that all families can benefit.
As part of this mission, we will dedicate a portion of the proceeds of this site toward the continuation of the free Lactation College newsletters. Your participation in these courses helps us with this goal.
Welcome. We're glad you are here.
Join Lactation College on Substack. It's free!
If you’re interested in lactation training, this site is for you! These “classes", in the form of newsletters, are posted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in both English and Spanish. Subscribe for free today!
FIND US ON SUBSTACK