Traditional Childbirth Educator Certification

ICEA certified childbirth educators have verified that they have the necessary knowledge and experience to enable them to facilitate expectant parents' mental and physical preparation for pregnancy, labor, birth and parenthood. This program promotes the concept of the childbirth educator as an advocate of the natural process of childbirth and the right of the expectant parent to make informed choices based on the knowledge of alternatives.

Steps To Certification

Candidates must first enroll in the program and become an ICEA member. The following four prerequisites can be completed in any order within two years (the exam is the last step):

1. Acquire a minimum of 16 ICEA approved contact hours by attending the Professional Childbirth Educator Workshop.
2. Complete the required reading list.
3. Successfully complete an evaluated teaching series.
4. Observe a minimum of two labors and/or births.
5. After steps 1-4 are completed, apply to take the certification examination.

Candidates will choose their own date and location to take the test (no less than 30 days prior to submitting your application) and find a proctor to administer the exam. Exam testing is also offered at ICEA's annual convention at a reduced fee.

Study Guides

While completing the prerequisites for the certification examination, candidates use the objectives contained in the study guides for self-paced, independent study. Each objective contains an overview, content outlines, key concepts, references, and required position statements and articles. (the study guides are mailed to you in the form of a computer CD/DISC upon enrolling in the certification program) Each section contains extensive objectives and are divided into the following ten subject areas:

• Part I - Family-Centered Maternity Care (FCMC) and the Role of the Childbirth Educator
• Part II - Anatomy&Physiology of Preconception, Conception and Pregnancy
• Part III - Nutrition for the Childbearing Year and Infant Feeding
• Part IV - Psychosocial/Emotional Changes in Pregnancy, Abuse Issues
• Part V - Labor and Birth
• Part VI - Labor Coping Skills
• Part VII - Obstetrical Tests and Procedures
• Part VIII - Cesarean Birth and Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
• Part IX - Postpartum and the Newborn
• Part X - Teaching Skills

Estimated Costs For ICEA Certification

• ICEA Membership ($75/year) plus Certification Program Enrollment ($100)
• Evaluated teaching series (some evaluators will volunteer their time; others will charge a fee)
• Professional Childbirth Educator Workshop Contact Hours - $250 to $400 (approx)
• Required Readings - $250 to $300 (approx)
• Certification Examination Fee - $200
• Total certification costs approximately $1300 for a rewarding career.

Required Readings For This Program Are:

• Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn - Medically Updated, by Simkin, Whalley, and Keppler (PB0185)
• Childbirth Education: Practice, Research, and Theory, by Nichols and Humenick (ND8007)
• Maternity and Women's Health Care, by Lowdermilk, Perry, and Bobak (ND0408)
• The Labor Progress Handbook - 2nd Edition, by Simkin and Ancheta (EP2020)
• Prepared Childbirth - The Educator's Guide, by Amis and Green (RR001)
• Family-Centered Education: The Process of Teaching Birth, by Booth (IC0095)
• Teaching Pregnancy, Birth, and Parenting: A Childbirth Educator's Perspective, by White (IC2221)

Purchase the required readings at the ICEA Bookcenter and receive a discount on the bundled set.

Regularly $318.90

Sale $294.00

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Other recommended, but NOT required readings include:

• When Survivors Give Birth: Understanding and Healing the Effects of Early Sexual Abuse on Childbearing Women, by Simkin and Klaus (EP5401) $28.95 (Member Price)
• Hit the Ground Crawling: Lessons From 150,000 New Fathers, by Bishop (IC2913) $15.95 (Member Price)
• Heart&Hands: A Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy&Birth, by Davis, Harrison, and Arms (available through amazon.com)

Forms And Guidelines: