List of breastfeeding activists

There is an international breastfeeding community. It consists of people who actively promote breastfeeding, teach breastfeeding, research breastfeeding and related health issues, and who write about breastfeeding and the many ways it influences family life. With the formation of La Leche League (LLL) in 1956, there became a central place of contact where breastfeeding activists, researchers and writers could connect with each other and share information and gain support.

As breastfeeding women began to join LLL and attend meetings they also became a market segment for writers on nursing and parenting. La Leche League conferences (local, national and international) created venues for speakers, for researchers to present their findings, and for new books to be released. As more women became college educated and entered the work force, they began to create new health fields, such as lactation consultation. Today, there are lactivists, women and men who actively promote the health benefits of breastfeeding for mothers, babies and communities, and protest against companies and corporations who discriminate against breastfeeding women.

Seven founders of La Leche League, also known as the founding mothers

 * Mary Ann Cahill
 * Edwina Froehlich
 * Mary Ann Kerwin
 * Viola Lennon
 * Marian Tompson
 * Betty Wagner Spandikow
 * Mary White

And some very early supporters of La Leche League, as listed in the Second Edition of the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, May 1963, in order:


 * Dr. Herbert Ratner, Dr. Gregory J. White, Dr. Niles Newton, Dr. E. Robbins Kimball
 * Dr. Frank Howard Richardson, Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, Mrs. John Gale Aiken
 * Ms Mildred Hatch, Mrs. Margaret Gamper R.N., Ms Joy Sidor, Ms Dorothy Vining
 * Ms Mary B. Carson

Medical professionals working in the field today

 * Kathy Dettwyler anthropology professor at Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania and an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware. Also a lecturer, author and breastfeeding advocate.
 * Mayer Eisenstein, MD, JD, MPH Founder of Homefirst Health Services in Illinois
 * Kittie Frantz, Coordinator of Lactation Education at University of Southern California, Clinical Instructor in Pediatrics at USC's Keck School of Medicine,teaches her own course, The Baby's Perspective". Named a Living TreasurebyMothering (magazine) in July 2007.
 * Lawrence Gartner, Professor Emiritus, Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics/Gynecology University of Chicago, lead author of current American Academy of Pediatrics statement of Breastfeeding and the use of human milk
 * Dr. Jay Gordon The first male physician to sit for and pass the International Board of Lactation Certification Exam. He has served on the Professional Advisory Board of La Leche League for twenty years.
 * Thomas W. Hale, R.Ph., Ph.D. Professor of Pediatrics, Texas Tech University School of Medicine  Author of Medications and Mother's Milk
 * Barbara Heiser, RN, BSN, IBCLC, Executive Director of the National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy
 * Dr.Kathleen Kendall-Tackett Widely published in the fields of family violence, maternal depression, perinatal health, and disability often while also considering the effects of breastfeeding.
 * Sheila Kitzinger teaches workshops on the social anthropology of birth and breastfeeding
 * Dr. Ruth Lawrence Dr. Lawrence directs the Breastfeeding and Human Lactation Study Center at the University of Rochester, NY, with research focused on breastfeeding behaviors and breastfeeding management. Current emphases include drugs and herbs in human breast milk.
 * Dr. Marianne Neifert, MD (aka Dr. Mom)
 * Dr. Jack Newman, MD is a Canadian physician specializing in breastfeeding support and advocacy.
 * Brian Palmer D.D.S. Breastfeeding and Dental Health
 * Jan Riordan, RN, is a Professor of Nursing at Wichita State University. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, a La Leche League Leader, and a practicing IBLCE certified lactation consultant. She is a co-author of Study Guide for Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, Third Edition as well as several other publications.
 * Dr. William Sears is an American pediatrician and the author or co-author of more than 30 parenting books with his wife, Martha, who is also a La Leche League Leader. They write and lecture about attachment parenting, and coined the phrase.
 * Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC Author of "Selling Out Mothers and Babies, Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes in the USA", National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy NABA


 * Nils Bergmann, MD
 * Christina Smillie, MD
 * Nancy Wight, MD
 * Peter Hartmann, MD

Publications that actively support breastfeeding

 * International Breastfeeding Journal An online journal that publishes research papers
 * Mothering A wholistic parenting magazine edited by Peggy O'Mara, a breastfeeding advocate



Internet sites that promote and support breastfeeding

 * Breastfeeding.com - Useful information, videos, breastfeeding in fine art, advocacy, community, resources
 * Breastfeeding After Reduction Breastfeeding after breast and nipple surgeries
 * The Breastfeeding Cafe - By Barbara Behrmann, author of The Breastfeeding Café: Mothers Share the Joys, Challenges and Secrets of Nursing
 * Breastfeeding Task Force for Los Angeles, Calif. Breastfeeding information links in more than a dozen languages.
 * Hathor the Cow Goddess - Heather Cushman-Dowdee is a lactivist and comic book artist, whose almost daily internet comics celebrate breastfeeding, attachment parenting, unschooling, and activism
 * ibreastfeeding.com - Dr. Hale's publications page, with links to books about breastfeeding and a newsletter with links to current medical research and breastfeeding in the news
 * Keep Abreast Journal of breastfeeding advocates in the Philippines
 * Kelly Mom - Kelly Mom is Kelly Bonyata, BS, IBCLC, a Lactation Consultant. Her web page is considered the go-to site for well-written, easily understood, and current information about breastfeeding challenges and problems
 * LACTNET - A high volume mailing list for lactation information and discussion
 * MOBI Mothers overcoming breastfeeding issues
 * Mom's Milk Anywhere - Advocacy group for mothers who have experienced breastfeeding discrimination at work or in public
 * Mothering - Official website for the magazine
 * Promom (Promotion of Mother's Milk, Inc.) - Has the list of 101 reasons to breastfeed your child
 * Reluctant Lactivist - A blog about breastfeeding in public, pumping at work, breastfeeding legislation, and cultural attitudes about breastfeeding
 * The Lactivist - A blog and Cafe Press store that promotes extended breastfeeding, breastfeeding in public and human milk bank donation.

International organizations that promote breastfeeding

 * U.S.Department of Health and Human Services Breastfeeding Page
 * Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative in the USA Includes a list of links for Baby Friendly Hospitals in the US
 * Australian Breastfeeding Association
 * Breastfeeding Committee for Canada
 * Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy
 * Baby Milk Action United Kingdom
 * Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India
 * BreastEd
 * Human Milk Banking Assoc. of North American
 * Breastfeeding Committee for Canada
 * World Health Organization ([[WHO])]
 * INFACT Canada Infant Action Feeding Coalition
 * International Baby Food Action Network
 * Linkages Project
 * La Leche League International
 * NABA National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy, Inc.
 * Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
 * UNICEF--United Nations Children's Fund
 * World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)

Organizations for breastfeeding professionals

 * The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine A worldwide organization of physicians dedicated to the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding and human lactation
 * American Academy of Pediatrics Breastfeeding Initiatives AAP firmly adheres to the position that breastfeeding ensures the best possible health as well as developmental and psychosocial outcomes for the infant. This section includes continuing education opportunities for pediatrians.
 * International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) Professional organization for international board-certified lactation consultants
 * International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) Certifying organization for international board-certified lactation consultants