IBLCE Exam Prep: Tips for Medication Questions

All medications can be organized into categories, such as antibiotics or anti-inflammatories. A good place to start - especially if you do not have a medical background - is to review an outline on those categories, known as classes. Learn which are the most commonly used during the time of pregnancy through weaning and familiarize yourself with those.

As you know from your lactation training, most medications are compatible with lactation, but some are absolutely contraindicated. Be sure you know which those are.

The exam will use generic names of medications. Be sure you are familiarizing yourself with, for example, sertraline (the generic name) and not Zoloft (the trade name).

Learn which vaccinations are contraindicated in lactation and when. Remember, if a topic is on the exam blueprint, it may be on the exam!

When you are studying medication, try to not just memorize whether the medication is acceptable, but truly understand why. For example, if a mother is receiving heparin via IV, can she continue to breastfeed? The interesting thing about heparin is that it does not pass into breastmilk because the molecular weight is too big. (That is why she is receiving it via IV, not orally.) Knowing these nuances can help.