ICEA Contact Hours

An ICEA contact hour is a specific amount of time spent participating in an educational program. Contact hours are computed as sixty minutes of education equals one contact hour. Similar to US nursing continuing education credits (CEUs). ICEA contact hours are offered by workshops or programs that have been reviewed and approved by ICEA. ICEA contact hours are approved for traditional face-to-face learning situations and are reviewed on the basis of program content and faculty qualifications. Each program will verify the attendance of participants. Participants must attend all sessions in order to receive the maximum number of contact hours offered. Contact hours are given for whole hours only, not partial hours.

All ICEA conventions and Professional Training Workshops will award contact hours. Organizations related to childbirth education can apply for contact hours for face-to-face instruction programs. ICEA already accepts and automatically honors those contact hours obtained by attending DONA and Lamaze approved workshops for recertification.

It is the responsibility of the candidate or certified member to confirm whether ICEA contact hours have been granted prior to attending a program or event.

Alternate Contact Hours

Alternate contact hours may be approved for learning formats such as correspondence courses, video or audio tapes. Alternate contact hours must be applied for by the program sponsor, and approval must be awarded prior to use by the candidate or certified member.

ICEA has available a large selection of alternate contact hours for purchase. One alternate contact hour is earned for each program.

Candidates and certified members may use alternate contact hours for one-half of the required hours for recertification.

Retroactive Contact Hours

Retroactive contact hours may be requested by the candidate or certified member for face-to-face educational programs that did not apply for ICEA contact hour approval. The responsibility lies with the individual to provide ICEA with the information needed to review the program. The individual must also submit a processing fee with the materials.