Evolve Lactation Podcast Christine Staricka, IBCLC

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As healthcare workers, we should not be creating drama in the first days of breastfeeding.
When you’re a parent in the throes of learning to breastfeed your new baby, it’s normal to have questions, doubts, concerns, and anxieties.
But if you’re a healthcare worker, you should have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of human lactation; you should be able to avoid adding to the confusion or struggle.
Join me on this episode of the Evolve Lactation Podcast where I discuss the vision, the mission, and the realities of early lactation support. (You can click Transcript above to read it if you prefer.)
Thank you for reading Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Have you read my new book, Evolving the Modern Breastfeeding Experience: Holistic Lactation Care in the First 100 Hours? It is now available at this link.
You may also be interested in my Free Guide to the 3 Best Questions to Ask in the First 100 Hours. Grab your copy here!
I’d love to hear your feedback in the Comments after you’ve listened. Please share your experiences so we can keep the conversation going!


Get full access to Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC at ibclcinca.substack.com/subscribe

I wrote a book about early lactation care, but not everyone is going to like it. 
Many health care providers are going to have a hard time with this approach, even though it’s entirely evidence-based. 
Join me on this episode of the Evolve Lactation Podcast where I read a chapter from my new book, Evolving the Modern Breastfeeding Experience: Holistic Lactation Care in the First 100 Hours. 

The book is available now at this link. 

You may also be interested in this free guide to the 3 Best Questions to Ask in the First 100 Hours. Grab yours here!

If you work with someone who has a really hard time advocating for breastfeeding, this might be the episode (and the book!) they need. 
A clear understanding of breastfeeding and milk production is critical, but even that is not enough for people who have a bias against breastfeeding. 
Healthcare providers have an obligation to advocate for protocols that are known to result in healthier outcomes, and breastfeeding is one of the most important health behaviors for both mothers and babies. 

In this chapter of the book, I explain why so many people seem to resist advocating for breastfeeding, even some lactation care providers.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Evolve Lactation Podcast, please leave a review AND share it with a friend! 


Get full access to Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC at ibclcinca.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you for reading Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Hold on to your hats - this is a long, amazing, wide-ranging conversation!
I’ve been following the blooming IBCLC career of Nicole Longmire (@MotheringNurtured on IG) for several years now on social media.
Last week I reached out to her to praise her for a post she made that really resonated with me, and before I knew it, we were each in front of our podcasting microphones, pressing record.
In this conversation, we talk about so many things:
* mentorship of aspiring lactation consultants
* The First 100 Hours and my book
* our thoughts on the relevance of the WHO Code today
* ethics
* lactation career growth
* and so much more
Come along with me and Nicole for this important conversation!
Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.





If you’d like to learn more about (and from!) Nicole, check out these links:
Visit Nicole’s Website Here
Follow Nicole on Instagram
Subscribe to Nicole’s Podcast
The Milk Shakes Podcast Is Here
Mentioned in the Episode:
My New Book, due to release on April 2, 2024
Evolving the Modern Breastfeeding Experience: Holistic Lactation Care in the First 100 Hours



Get full access to Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC at ibclcinca.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you for reading Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Happy IBCLC Day! In celebration, I have a really special episode of the podcast for you.
I am so excited to share with you my conversation with my dear friend and fellow IBCLC, Adrienne Guirguis. I cannot begin to count up how much I have learned from Adrienne over the years.
She is everything you want your IBCLC to be: brilliant, compassionate, humble, confident, open-minded and accepting. She is a whiz at lactation triage on the hospital inpatient floor, patient and gentle with everyone who is in the room for a lactation consultation, and absolutely ravenous for new knowledge and information.
I would never hesitate to refer a client to her for any lactation issue, and I believe she represents the ideal in an IBCLC.
Let’s get to know Adrienne!

Adrienne Guirguis, a board certified lactation consultant, has over 25 years experience in helping breastfeeding infants and their families. She began her journey into the world of lactation after struggling to breastfeed her oldest son. She became an accredited La Leche League leader and was able to help babies breastfeed. Her experience with La Leche League led Adrienne to become a International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She has been board certified for 20 years and has experience with a wide range of problems that may be experienced by new families. Adrienne has worked in hospital for over 10 years and then worked in community health for many years. She is a clinical practitioner, working hands on with families to improve feeding outcomes.Adrienne continues her lactation education, constantly attending conferences and courses to stay up-to-date on the information and skills needed to benefit those who most need breastfeeding help. She is a certified Specialist in Orofacial Myology.
In 2022 Adrienne completed the Holistic Integrative/Functional Lactation course, a year long program followed by a residency. This course has increased her skills to provide the best care for the families with whom she works.Adrienne also is an educator, working within the community to teach others the skills necessary to become lactation counselors and eventually board certified lactation consultants. She is the President of the Central Valley Lactation Association, an official chapter of USLCA.
Thank you for reading Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Adrienne joined me on the Evolve Lactation Podcast for a conversation where we take a look back over all of the settings in which she has practiced lactation care. The diversity of practice settings really sets her apart and gives her unique perspectives on how best to care for mothers and babies.
Over the span of more than 25 years, she has seen breastfeeding unfold over the hours, days, months, and years along the entire spectrum of infant and child development.
From teaching prenatal breastfeeding classes to private prenatal consultations, from seeing newborns nursing in the hospital to the community clinic to the home visit, and babies and toddlers of all ages in support groups, Adrienne has seen a lot in her lactation career.
One of her strengths is connecting with mothers and fathers, building relationships with them so that they can trust her with their lactation needs. Having a newborn brings the new parent into a vulnerable space, and Adrienne has a gift for engaging them in a way that brings them comfort and support so that they can enjoy their baby.
In fact, her connections with her clients are so strong and so important to the parents she serves that her private practice’s strongest referral source is word of mouth. People trust her with the lactation care of the people they love, and there is no greater testimonial than that.
In this episode, we take a ride in our time machine (because we’ve known each other and worked together f

My day-to-day work revolves around supporting the current and the aspiring lactation care provider with the resources they need to continue learning, to practice evidence-informed lactation care, and to treat people with kindness and compassion in their contacts with them for the purposes of lactation support. I am immersed in the world of lactation care and the universe of lactation supporters every single day. I am fully committed and I don’t intend to retire anytime soon.
That’s why I read that New York Times article with alarm. There are some very damaging tropes being perpetuated within it. (I refuse to link to it and give them even more website traffic. A quick Google search will bring it up.)
The New York Times has pulled out the American journalistic playbook on breastfeeding and lactation once again. They’re checking off the boxes on all the false narratives that confound all efforts to truly support people with their breastfeeding goals.
Those false narratives:
* everyone who is pregnant is pressured by everyone to breastfeed for the whole time their baby is a baby
* lactation consultants are overpaid people who exist to take your money and shame you into breastfeeding
* if you have problems with breastfeeding, you have to stop and do something else instead
* pediatricians are experts in breastfeeding
* the Affordable Care Act means that everyone has access to lactation care through their health insurance and insurance companies reimburse lactation consultants for their work
* hospitals push breastfeeding beyond the limits of safety
* clinical issues in lactation are easily explained or dismissed by people who have not studied them in depth or ever worked with a lactating dyad
Thank you for reading Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Here’s what I can’t wrap my head around: they could be using their platform to amplify information about how breastfeeding has been found to decrease the rate of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, reduce first-year infant mortality, and reduce lifetime risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women and people who give birth, but instead The New York Times is publishing an article that calls lactation support into question and breaks the public trust in the IBCLC.
We don’t have time for this. Many, many people want to breastfeed and cannot access the clinical and peer lactation support they need to do so.
Publishing debate about a complex clinical scenario which impacts a small percentage of lactating dyads in a mainstream publication and then conducting what they called an “investigation” by people who are not experts in clinical lactation is not at all productive and it is, I would argue, harmful.
There is tremendous harm in perpetuating the myth that lactation consultants are greedy, unethical people whose only objectives are, according to the American journalistic playbook on breastfeeding to a)overcharge you for their services and b)make you feel bad for how you are feeding your baby.
Nothing could be further from the truth in either aspect.
I’ve spent the better part of the past 15 years specifically serving IBCLCs and advocating for the profession and the credential. I’ve volunteered with ILCA and USLCA, served on the Board of USLCA, served on local organizations and for non-profit AND for-profit companies which serve the IBCLC. I offer specialized services for IBCLCs and those aspiring to earn the credential.
I’ve been a practicing IBCLC since 2009, proudly serving families in California.
I could write an entire book about what I have learned from all of those experiences.
Thank you for reading Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC. This post is public so feel free to share it.

What I know is that people get into the field of lactation because they uncover that they have a passion and/or determination to break down the barriers to breastfeeding that they or others close to them have fac

In this talk, I discuss the challenges of talking about formula as a lactation care provider and provides ideas to stay inspired and ready to discuss formula with clients. I share my own experiences with infant feeding so that you know my context and emphasize the importance of understanding where clients are coming from when discussing formula. I also provide guidance on how to approach conversations about formula, including assessing the need for formula, exploring clients' concerns and preferences, and reminding them that formula can be a temporary tool if necessary. I highlight the role of lactation care providers in educating and supporting parents in making informed decisions about infant feeding.
It can be hard to talk about formula, but I’ve got ideas and guidance for you.
It’s our role as lactation care providers to help our clients and patients explore, learn, and make informed decisions when they’re thinking about using formula.
These frameworks that I discuss here on the podcast can help you approach those conversations in a neutral way and stay organized as you offer education and support.
This is a huge topic, so you can expect more to come on this.



Get full access to Evolve Lactation with Christine Staricka IBCLC at ibclcinca.substack.com/subscribe