Channeling Your Passion for Lactation
Focusing on Yourself and Your Mission
Lactation work is a very specific and “niche” career.
If you are serious about planning your future and growing in your lactation career, you’ll benefit from joining up with an experienced guide who can point you toward the resources and opportunities best matched to you.
Whether you are in the earliest stages of considering a career in lactation work or are a seasoned IBCLC, I can help you build a clear plan for turning your vision into real life.
Maybe you have clinical questions or a tough case you need to talk through.
Or you have goals for your lactation business, and you’re unsure how to achieve them.
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Progress Through Intention
When you have a step-by-step game plan, you will always know what to do next and won’t feel like you are running in place.
Many people enter the lactation field with an unyielding passion and enthusiasm.
Channeling that type of energy into a clear mission and vision statement can pay off in knowing how and when to seek out new roles and responsibilities in the lactation care universe.
Your unique background and perspective are the foundation of your own meaning and purpose in providing lactation education and care to others.
At times, you may find yourself “stuck,” wondering what else you can do to make an impact or how you can expand your knowledge and offerings.
You might also find yourself feeling burned out, overwhelmed, or constantly frustrated about the same thing.
Perhaps the issue is more sensitive: you already work in a role where you have a responsibility to provide lactation education and support, but you find it difficult to “buy in” to breastfeeding in general. You feel like your personal feelings and opinions are leaking through and making it hard for you to be objective.
These are all examples of times when it could be helpful to talk to an experienced lactation consultant who can help you find perspective and make a plan for moving forward.
This is how I can help.
Here’s What We Talk About at Evolve Lactation
Honoring your gifts and what you uniquely bring to the practice of lactation care
Finding clarity about what you want to achieve in your practice
Growing your confidence in your skills, knowledge, and ability to connect with others
Defining success for yourself
Pursuing leadership in the lactation field with authenticity and resilience
Implementing your clinical lactation education in real-world scenarios
Understanding the certification and re-certification processes for IBCLCs
Navigating ethics and marketing while promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding and human milk feeding
…and more!
What’s Included
Personalized Support: Receive voice messages and texts from me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between 9 AM and 3 PM Pacific time.
Your Lactation Career Coach: As an IBCLC for 15 years and a small business owner, I am right here with you offering practical and positive support.
Imagine What’s Possible:
You don’t have to figure it all out on your own - that’s what I’m here to do. I’ve done the work and I’ll walk with you through how you want to do it.
Imagine feeling confident that you can make clear executive decisions about your lactation work and opportunities that come your way - decisions about how you spend your time and where you put your energy
Imagine what is possible for you, with your unique background and perspective on perinatal health, with your foundation of education and your desire to serve a specific set of people.
As an IBCLC who has worked in multiple settings over my career, I totally get it. Evolve Lactation is the bridge between your hard work in the lactation care space and how you will make a bigger impact. There’s no fluff, no judgment—just practical support that meets you right where you are.
Ready to be Guided and Nourished? Let’s work together to bring more energy, creativity, and resilience to your lactation career!
Who I Am
I think about lactation and lactation care from a lot of different angles. I spend time learning and studying outside the field of lactation to bring back insights. I write and talk about things like digital professionalism, impostor syndrome, leadership methods, adaptability, generational differences in learning, historical perspectives, and so much more.
Why It Matters
We don’t do this work in a vacuum. We do it in a world where everything else is happening, and we need to think about how what we do fits into other perspectives.
In our field, we often lament among ourselves about how other health professionals don’t know enough or think about breastfeeding enough. We get frustrated at how little priority seems to be placed on this one thing that we are SO FASCINATED with. We worry about a future where hardly anyone understands how breastfeeding works.
The point is that we have to stay connected to as much as we can, and I try to bring you whatever I can in service of that connection.
I go out and find things to share with you. I talk to people whose ideas can help us in our work. I try things and let you know how they work out.
FAQs
I am a lactation student and I already have a clinical mentor; how will this help me?
As your career mentor, I have a different focus than your clinical mentor. My role is to guide you as you establish your mission and vision, define your values, set goals, and work toward the objectives you have set for yourself.
Can I ask questions about clinical topics instead of career growth?
Of course! We can use this community to talk about clinical issues, discuss the IBCLC re-certification process, review topics as you study for the IBCLC exam, or discuss any other subject related to the work of lactation care and advocacy.
I’m all in; what should I do next?
You are most cordially invited to Subscribe to Evolve Lactation!
As a paid subscriber,
Also, be sure to listen to my podcast, The Lactation Consultant’s Inbox, for more insights and resources!
About Your Lactation Career Coach
My name is Christine Staricka. I have been involved in the lactation field since 2001. I have held the IBCLC credential since 2009, having re-certified in 2014, 2019, and 2024.
I am an author, international lactation speaker, and thought leader in the field.
In my lactation career, I have worked and volunteered in many settings:
hospital inpatient
community outpatient
support group leader
local, regional, and national professional lactation associations
non-profit organizations
for-profit organizations
private lactation practice
professional lactation education provider
and more
I currently hold multiple roles in various settings, working closely clinically and academically with registered nurses, midwives, doulas, postpartum mental health care providers, and others who are invested in the welfare and safety of breastfeeding dyads and families worldwide.
I have studied and pursued additional knowledge about conflicts of interest in lactation care and the WHO Code, one of lactation work's most important guiding documents.
I firmly believe that intentionally building resilience is a cornerstone of ensuring the future of the lactation field.
This work can be wonderfully rewarding and incredibly draining.
It can be fun and joyous yet challenging and overwhelming.
The dichotomies are shocking but real.
The path to navigating all of it and thriving over the years is simple: the individual lactation care provider must remain focused on their mission and vision while continually building and nurturing relationships with the larger field of lactation care providers for connection, growth, and the global context that lends their work meaning.
If you are a lactation support provider in any capacity, I would be honored to work with you.
