What is an LCCE certification?
Trying to decide how to become a childbirth educator is a big task. As a doula educator, I get asked the question what is an LCCE certification? Sounds fancy, doesn't it? This is the credential given to certified Lamaze instructors. If you're a traditional, by-the-book person I could definitely see wanting to obtain an LCCE. You may be able to teach at a hospital by doing so. But I hate to say it... I have some criticisms. Hear me out and then I hope you'll be able to decide what's best for you.
First, the cost
Although Lamaze approved workshops may vary in cost, the average is around $699. At first glance you might compare that to the cost of HelloBirth and think we cost more. But with Lamaze, there are additional costs to become certified after the workshop, totaling more than $1,260 which is the total cost of training, certification, a 1-year membership with HelloBirth, and your out-of-the-box materials, including the HelloBirth app to use with your students. (Lamaze certifies you to teach, but then you have to go and create your own curriculum.) Here are the steps to obtaining an LCCE certification as one becomes a certified Lamaze instructor.
Buy the learning guide
The learning guide costs $225. I've heard participants say that you really can't expect to pass the exam unless you purchase it.
Attend a seminar
There are around a dozen listings for approved Lamaze workshop providers. Click through to the individual websites that look interesting and then dig around until you find the registration details. Some are offered virtually and some in-person.
Apply to take the exam
The exam costs $350 to take and consists of 165 multiple-choice questions, which must be completed within three hours. Aside from this very formal testing process that reminds me of the SAT, with 3 separate costs involved instead of 1 streamlined investment, my criticism is actually in the content of the test itself. I've always been told that the Lamaze exam is very rigorous. But when I read through the 7 key competency areas, although it is quite comprehensive, the topics are standard information that birth workers with a few years of experience already know. What really, truly shocked me though was what is NOT required of Lamaze educators.
Finally, you get all the way down to competency 7 and you see topics like "teaching aids," "teacher communication skills," "strategies to build confidence," "ways individuals learn," and "cultural competence." I'm sorry.... what? Cultural competence? That's something I haven't seen organizations talk about for at least the last several years. Cultural humility is the new standard and I'm disheartened that Lamaze International hasn't recognized that. They haven't updated any of their language around birthing, parenting or infant feeding, either. Maybe even more concerning are these puny topics around how to teach. Isn't that supposed to be the main purpose of a Lamaze training? Learning how to teach? These very basic topics are very outdated and do not spark my interest in the least bit as a facilitator. My assumption here is that individuals gain more learning opportunities through the membership & learning platform. But that's just another step you'd have to wade through.
The passing score for the certification exam is different each time the exam is given. The Lamaze site states: "After each administration, a psychometrician completes a statistical analysis. The committee reviews the statistics for each test question and if a particular question does not 'perform' well, it is eliminated from the scoring. The level of difficulty of the remaining items determines the passing score." The passing score on the exam has ranged from 70 percent to 79 percent. The retake fee is $170 for Lamaze members and $270 for non-members. (I'm honestly not sure what it costs to become a Lamaze member, but that could certainly put the cost of training to certify through Lamaze higher than the cost of certifying with HelloBirth, and you still don't have a curriculum.) At first glance it does look like the student's membership is included / free. But I'm too tired now to go and read the rest of the fine print. So that's my two cents. Here's a little more detailed of a comparison between Lamaze and hypnobirthing.