Fine, she wasn't the first breastfeeder in the U.S., but Edwina Froelich was one of the big pioneers of breastfeeding support and a founding member of that subversive group of nursing coercers, La Leche League. She died this week after suffering a stroke. She was 93.
Now, we can (and do) argue about nipple Nazism, sancti-nursers and cold, cold formula-feeding, but it's tough to argue that this woman DIDN'T make a big mark on how we parent -- and how we think about early parenting -- no matter what we feed our babies. At the very least, Froelich and the other founders of La Leche League helped to give moms choices, even though the option to breastfeed was always right there under our noses (actually, our necks, but whatever). Her nursing story started when, after having her first baby at 35, docs said she'd never make enough milk "at her age."
True American hero, all that. But here's what I'm actually thinking when I read her obit:
It says she is survived by her three sons (all of whom were breastfed) and nine grandchildren. Come on, aren't you wondering whether all nine were breastfed? And don't you pity the daughter-in-law who decided to go with Enfamil? Tension!
Photo: NYTimes.com
