What is Lactation College?

The goal of this blog is to answer the question in this email: "So many of my friends are recommending the Lactation College but I am confused about how to find it and which one is which. Can you help me?"

First, how GREAT IS IT that interest in lactation growing such that interest in our writings has grown dramatically? I (Bobbi Philipp) am writing this blog to help explain the work that I am doing, the work that Mary Foley is doing and the work that Mary and I are doing together!

We have four products to offer you.

#1. The Lactation College on Substack

I started this, the original Lactation College site, in January 2021 during the pandemic lock-down. The name is "The Lactation College on Substack" because it is offered on the writing platform Substack. 

This site is free. The original goal was to help learners pass the IBCLC examination. but it drew such interest that a second goal is to be a site for anyone interested in learning about the topic of lactation.

This runs in a Semester format. Each Semester is about 4-5 months long; we are currently in Semester 6. I post a new topic every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Most topics are followed by a Test Your Knowledge post that contains questions and answers. If you subscribe (give your email address) then every post pops up in your email box as soon as I post it. While the Semester is running, all posts stay up and can be found by clicking on "Archive" or "See All". Along the way I post a curriculum summary so you can know what we have talked about and where we are headed.

For test takers - I don't have any inside knowledge about the IBCLC examination, but - I recommend reading/studying my email posts on Substack and also buying The Breastfeeding Atlas and reading that. The examination is 175 questions long and is divided into two parts. The second part involves questions about pictures. Because The Lactation College on Substack doesn't have as many pictures as I think you need, I also recommend The Breastfeeding Atlas because it does have pictures. Taking a practice exam prior to the test is also a great idea. in my opinion. I think this strategy will get you over the finish line.

Here is the link for The Lactation College on Substack  https://thelactationcollege.substack.com

#2. Pediatric Pearls and Research Thursday on The Lactation College on Substack

In an effort to keep the free site going, I created a paywall on the Substack site. To get past the paywall costs $8 a month or $50 a year.  If you choose to do this you still get the free Substack semester emails and also Pediatric Pearls on Tuesdays and Research Thursday posts on Thursday. To give you an idea about content, I am about to post a Pediatric Pearls on the newborn metabolic screen and some of my already- posted favorites are the Pearl post on laryngomalacia and the posts on various skin findings. To find this use the same link as above.

#3. Breastfeeding Buzz

Mary posts once a month on her site, Breastfeeding Buzz, which is also on Substack. Mary's goal is to offer education for hospital staff on the beauty and science of breastfeeding. I just want to comment that I learn sooo much from Mary. I am a pediatrician, she is a RN, IBCLC. We come at this from different angles. Mary really knows breastfeeding as she has been doing it for so long. She has great front line tips as you will discover from her Buzz. This site is free and if you subscribe her posts come right to you.

Here is a link to Breastfeeding Buzz. https://breastfeeding.substack.com

#4. Lactation College

You are here now. The platform this site is on is Kajabi. This is the place to go to take courses when you need credit hours. Mary and I are are co-owners of this site. The courses are one-hour in length and, if you pass the test at the end of the course with an 80% or better score, you can print out a certificate for CERP, CEU and CME credits. The type of CERP and the training category it meets is posted in the pre-course information. The cost is $14 a course but once in a while we run specials, like we just did to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. Again, we use profits from this site to keep our free sites up and running. Come Learn with Us!

Here is the link - if you wish to share it with friends! www.lactationcollege.com

That’s it. I hope this helps!

Bobbi Philipp