There’s a joke in my family that I should just mainline coffee.  I am surprisingly calm in spite of my allotment of at least two vente coffees per day.  That being said, spending long hours writing in Starbucks has recently made me fantasize about how to make  breastfeeding promotion be as successful as the spread of this ubiquitous brand.

Relationship building is at the heart of the Starbucks Philosophy.   Howard Schultz  was CEO of Starbucks in 1997 when he published his first book ” Pour Your Heart into it:  How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time”.  According to a review of this book  on Amazon.com,  “An exemplary success story, Starbucks is identified with innovative marketing strategies, employee-ownership programs, and a product that’s become a subculture.” 

To paraphrase the famous line from the movie “Harry Met Sally”, I’ll have some of what he, Howard Schultz, aka Starbucks & co. , is having… so that I can use it to successfully promote breastfeeding.   His secret weapon is a communication style where he is clear about what he stands for, the values he promotes and he consistently makes emotional connections with his audience be they employees or consumers.  On a limited advertising budget, he literally built his brand with a heartfelt passion, one cup at a time.

This realization is most encouraging for me. I am reminded of the long standing ILCA campaign, Reach one, Teach one.  One by one, whether at Starbucks, in my prenatal breastfeeding class or anywhere else I reach and teach using the same powerful communication strategies. 

1. Identify what you are passionate about and convey that message to everyone.

I am passionate about breastfeeding.  I use a holistic approach to shift the experience to a uniformly positive one for the mother and by extension her baby or babies.  This means optimizing the latch connection to ensure ample transfer of milk and pain-free feeding.  There is no need to rely so heavily on external measurements and gadgets.  Doing so only moves us further away from the essence of breastfeeding.

2. Inspire everyone with how the service, product , or cause will improve their world. 

Breastfeeding is a human baby’s biological birthright. It is ecological and economical.  Not breastfeeding adds significantly to pollution and is expensive.  Breastmilk is a custom blended, living superfood that cannot be commercially duplicated. It is truly like liquid gold. Priceless!

3. To lead a revolution leaders tap into the emotions not just the minds of colleagues and consumers.

Storytelling is a technique that I use all the time.  It supplements hands-on and teaching by example.  When moms can relate and see themselves in another mothers story they can connect with a positive vision of successful breastfeeding for themselves.

Starbucks paid attention to both its employee/partners and customers. They created a good experience and a reputation that expanded their brand rapidly by word of mouth.  Breastfeeding advocates can learn much from this innovative marketing ploy. 

Focus on the mother, the thinking partner in a breastfeeding relationship and create for her a pain-free, positive breastfeeding experience.

I am often asked in my prenatal breastfeeding classes whether it is ok to drink and breastfeed.   

Being true to my Irish roots, with a wee twinkle in my eye, I answer this question with a question.  I ask,” Have you heard about Guinness?”  I quickly follow up with this disclaimer, ” I am a nurse and a health care professional. It is my duty to recommend that you examine your own relationship with alcohol and act accordingly to moderate or avoid it while breastfeeding.  Alcohol is not brain food nor is it acceptable to be impaired if you are caring for an innocent child.”

I deliberately bring up the Guinness because it shows the mixed messages being bandied about with regard to alcohol.  

Against the backdrop of my heritage, a la Sonia Sotomayer, I can bring out the various aspects of this debate.

I am well versed on the supposed merits of Guinness having been to the brewery in Dublin.  Indeed, I can share with them information straight from the Guinness website which is currently celebrating the 250′th anniversary of the brew.   Apparently the water comes from near the place of my father’s birth in Wicklow.  According to their FAQ, “Key ingredients -other than inspiration-are roasted, malted barley, hops, yeast and water”  (This would explain its strong association with promoting a mother’s milk supply.) 

In fact, ad campaigns from the 1930’s touted Guinness as being “Good for Health”.  Such claims are no longer legal, but the lore persists especially outside Ireland.

Believe it or not, some of these expectant mothers in my classes claim they heard you should drink Guinness in order to have enough milk.  “Like Water to Chocolate” even if drinking the Guinness could make milk flow in abundance-it is best done on a case by case basis. 

If a future mom ever enjoyed a beer or stout before becoming pregnant, she might enjoy a Guinness, on occasion, while breastfeeding.  If she does not like beer or stout, or has issues with alcohol in general, then she should not begin drinking it while breastfeeding.  It should be noted that there is a non-alcoholic version of Guinness that contains the main ingredients, sans the alcohol, which may increase milk supply.

It is human nature to want to do things that are forbidden. Pregnancy lasts 9 months and is a time frame during which most moms can maintain  healthy lifestyle choices.  However, if this period of refraining from certain foods and alcohol extends well beyond birth, it may impact their resolve to continue breastfeeding.  A just say no policy on alcohol consumption while breastfeeding may lead some to wean early. 

On the other hand, mothers should not be encouraged to drink with reckless abandon.  The use of dip-sticks to check on alcohol content in breastmilk and/or the common practice of  “pumping and dumping” does not do much to encourage moderation.   I point out to the moms-to-be in my classes that most of them will be the proverbial “cheap date”.  Having abstained from alcohol for a long time they will have a lower tolerance for its effects.  To savor the social experience and slow the absorption rate, they should be sure to eat whenever they consume alcoholic beverages.  In college frats when they intend to become inebriated, they avoid food.

Studies do show that alcohol is processed rapidly into the blood stream; the speed will vary depending upon the amounts they have drunk and whether they have eaten.  What ends up in the milk will also be affected by where it falls in relation to the breastfeeding patterns of their babies.  What is pumped is not necessarily the same as what their baby would access from direct breastfeeding.  So I am suspicious of the results of these dip sticks.

I encourage the mothers in my practice to examine their drinking history honestly when deciding whether or not to drink while breastfeeding.  The consequences go far beyond the risk of a hangover now that they will be parents.  Annie, from PhdinParenting, has a wonderful post which sums it up so well You Should Not Be Drunk While Caring For Your Baby. 

I view breastfeeding as a golden opportunity for mothers to further expand upon the conscious choices they made while pregnant to promote their own health and the well-being of their child. 

The question has come full circle. It is not merely whether it is ok to drink and breastfeed.  The old adage of eating for two while pregnant could be expanded to drinking while breastfeeding.

You need to think before you drink because it’s not just about you now…you have become a parent.