Evolve Lactation Podcast Christine Staricka, IBCLC

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

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

Why am I so serious about my work? How can we emphasize the importance of uncomplicating breastfeeding for individuals and on a population level?
In this new episode of the Evolve Lactation Podcast, I’ll discuss the need for over-education and continuous learning in the field of lactation care. I’ve got some encouragement for aspiring lactation care providers to seek out local connections, observe experienced practitioners, and engage in rich learning experiences.
I’m so excited to be back behind the mic, recording and producing my podcast!
What used to be called The Lactation Training Lab Podcast is now Evolve Lactation Podcast, and all the original episodes are there, too.
Remember, you can listen to all of it (from the beginning to the current episode) right here from this page, and you can also copy and paste this RSS link directly into your podcast player (like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.) to get new episodes right there alongside everything else you listen to.
https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/460460.rss
As always, please reach out and let me know how this episode made you feel, think, or act! You can send me a DM on Instagram @IBCLCinCA or email me here at Christine@EvolveLactation.org.
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.





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

In this episode I discuss my holistic approach to building resilience in your lactation career, why it's important, and how Evolve Lactation can help.
We review 5 strategies for thriving in your lactation career:
- prioritizing your own physical and emotional health
- writing and re-assessing your practice philosophy
- uncovering your own biases
- being intentional in choosing your continuing education
- nurturing your connections and community
Evolve Lactation is where current and aspiring lactation care providers find the inspiration, resources, and connections they need to thrive in their lactation practice.
Additional resources are located at www.EvolveLactation.org
I am on Instagram as @IBCLCinCA
I offer 1:1 coaching calls to help you with your lactation career needs. Learn more here


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

If you are getting into the field of lactation care, you need to be ready for the trickery. Be prepared.
The marketing deception, the lies, the outright bribery - it’s all coming at you. They’re just waiting to capture your attention and divert you from the science.
Marketing works; that’s why companies spend money on it. It works on everyone. Works on me, that’s for sure. It’s why I drink a certain kind of sparkling water and wear a certain kind of tank top. Maybe for you, it’s about the car you drive or the shoes you wear. Maybe it’s the phone you’re reading this on - you’ve got brand loyalty somewhere.
With lactation, it’s not ONLY about brand loyalty. It’s about the product mentality itself. Companies know the “motherhood market” is ripe for profit, so the goal is to ensure that everyone thinks people need tons of stuff when they have a baby. Free baby registry? Sure. Free samples of baby products? Yep. Free prenatal vitamins and supplements? You got it.
And… they’ve got you. If you’re an aspiring lactation care provider, they’re working really hard to capture you, too. You’ve got to know that. You’ve got to see it.
Remember when I said that marketing works on me? Well, there’s an exception. There’s a little switch you can turn on and off. It comes from education and evidence-based information and a commitment to truly helping and serving people.
I know and accept the science of human lactation as demonstrated through the evidence base and the concept of physiological plausibility. I can see when a product is being marketed that has a potential influence on human lactation, and I can run it through that filter. Is it really needed? Why? What happens if someone can’t get it - are they destined to fail at breastfeeding? The company sure wants everyone to think so, but is that really possible?
Here’s where they try to capture you: you probably already know how companies prey on the lack of information new parents may have, giving them tidbits of truth couched in confusing, out—of-context ideas. They’re ALSO hoping this will work on you as a lactation care provider. They want to take advantage of any doubt you might have about your education or knowledge in the science of human lactation.
They’re counting on their slick marketing campaigns, catchy slogans, and your tiny bit of wondering if you really understand everything about how lactation works to convince you that maybe their product is kinda necessary for everyone. They’re definitely hoping that if they can get you to take a sample and try it (or give it to one of your clients to try), or if they can join you for a Live on Instagram or get you to talk about their product in a social media post or video, that they will benefit from your reputation and your clients will believe in their product and buy it.
The key to resisting marketing when it comes to products which make claims about babies is this: adopt a mindset of scarcity.
Is it possible that this product is actually necessary? Well, yes, but for one person at a time, not for everyone. How would they know if it is necessary for them? By having their situation evaluated by a professional, someone in whose scope of practice it lies to recommend the use of a product.
If it is not in your scope of practice to evaluate and assess an individual or a dyad AND to understand AND be able to explain the potential positive and negative effects of a product, technique, or service, you should not be talking about products. Period. Refer to another model of care.
No breastfeeding product is right for everyone and not everyone needs breastfeeding products. That’s why it’s imperative that we collectively get a handle on this now. There is NO REASON that anyone should be out there endorsing products that can impact lactation (in positive or negative ways!)
If you are approached to receive a free sample, do not accept it. If you are professionally curious, purchase t

I finally figured it out.
Over the past five years, I’ve been creating so many presentations and tracking so many ideas. I want to make these presentations accessible to more people, and I also want to keep creating new ways to share what I know and what I have learned. Learning from podcasts - from just listening to experts talk through things - has become such a huge part of my life, and I feel like it would be such a great way for others to learn and keep building their lactation knowledge. 
I have also been writing here on Substack for a while, and I love it! There is so much about this format that makes it a logical choice for someone with ideas and knowledge to share them.

Which brings me right to the point…I’ve got notebooks filled with ideas of things I want to write for you AND talk through for you in audio format. I have created more than 20 separate CERP-level presentations over the past 6 years or so. Many of them have associated handouts and guides to supplement the learning process. I have published 24 “official” episodes of The Lactation Training Lab Podcast (which will now be transitioning to the Evolve Lactation Podcast and be available right here for you.)
It’s time to bring them all together and make it easier for YOU!
Using Substack as my platform, I can write for you AND record for you. You’ll have ONE place to find everything, and it will be organized. You can share ONE link with your colleagues when you want them to hear something you learned or that resonated with you.
You can read things, and you can listen as well. You’ll get updated when there’s something new, and we can chat about it in the comments so that YOUR voice can be heard as well.
I’m adding a Paid Subscription level ($8/month or $75/year) to ensure I can provide you with all of the rich background you need, like references from journals, links to related resources, and all of those downloadable handouts I mentioned above. This is my livelihood and my expertise, accumulated over more than 23 years in the lactation field, and I am confident it is worth the subscription price I am offering.
I envision you listening while you walk or work out or do stuff around the house. I can see new IBCLCs listening in between consults or on their way to the hospital or clinic for their shifts. I can imagine IBCLC exam candidates listening in over the months/years they are studying for the exam.
I want to be a consistent mentor to those who are in the process of becoming a lactation care provider. Clinical mentorships can be fleeting, but I’m going to be here, writing and podcasting as I continue to learn and gain insight as a lactation consultant. Social media is fun and exciting, but it disappears, and I don’t want to spend all my time creating things that hardly anyone sees.
I’ll still be hosting the amazing Evolve Lactation Community membership because, well, it works. Members love it, I love it, and it’s a valuable learning opportunity. The most loved part of it is the coaching calls, and now members have the option of scheduling private coaching calls with me in addition to attending the bi-weekly group calls. (If you’re not a member and you are interested in a coaching call, check out this link here.)

In A Nutshell:
This Substack newsletter is going to get better and have more content, PLUS I am adding a podcast to it. It will be simple. Stick around.
Love ya, Christine



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

Just a taste of the wisdom Amy Porterfield, online course creation and marketing expert, shared with me in our conversation recently:
 
“I can promise you that you are really good in one specific area, if not more, in your industry. There's more money to be made - and a bigger impact you can make - when you figure out your thing, what it is that you are really good at in your area of expertise.”
 
On marketing: “Don't expect yourself to know this! Find a guide who's gone before you and learn from them. Don't let it start you thinking ‘I would never know what to do.’ You can figure it out, I promise you.”
 
On investing the time to create a digital course: “it's an asset that you're creating one time, but you're going to benefit in terms of revenue over and over and over again.”
 
On what it takes to integrate building an online course into your life even when you have a day job: “What it looks like is you dedicating a few hours a week, whether it be three hours, five hours, eight hours, if you have it, (most people don't have that much time), but you have to book it into your calendar and say, I want something more in my life…. So it's just a matter of discipline, like anything else, but understanding why you're doing it will help you show up for those times. You said you would.”
 
On her appreciation for lactation consultants: “I love the work that you do and all those that are listening, what they do. I remember when my sister worked with a consultant and how much it changed her life, and so I have a sweet spot for all of you listening. Thank you so very, very much.”
When you are done listening to this podcast, you are going to want to hear more from Amy! Here are a couple of ways you can do that:
Listen to Amy's private, limited-time podcast series here Find Your Thing - your special area of expertise - using Amy's FREE guided exercises here Learn more about online course creation and get a headstart on yours in Amy's new Course Confident Bootcamp here  


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