Mary Ann Kerwin
Born
Mary Ann Collins

1931 (age 92–93)
Wisconsin, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.A. English literature, Barat College of the Sacred Heart, 1953
J.D., University of Denver, 1986
Occupation(s)Lawyer, breastfeeding activist
Years active1956–present
Known forCo-founder of La Leche League
SpouseThomas Joseph Kerwin
Children6 sons (one died in infancy)
3 daughters
AwardsColorado Women's Hall of Fame, 2012

Mary Ann Kerwin (born 1931) is an American lawyer and breastfeeding activist. One of the seven founders of La Leche League in 1956, she established the Colorado branch of the advocacy group and drafted state laws on behalf of women who breastfeed their infants in public and in the workplace. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2012.

Early life, education, and marriage

Mary Ann Collins was born in Wisconsin in 1931[1] and moved to the Chicago area as a child.[2] She earned her B.A. in English literature, minoring in education, at Barat College of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic college in Lake Forest, Illinois, in 1953.[2]

After graduation she took some teaching jobs; later she worked as a travel agent.[2] In December 1954,[2] she married Thomas Joseph Kerwin (1930–2008), a graduate of Loyola University.[3][4] They had six sons, one of whom died in infancy, and three daughters.[3]

La Leche League

We would practically smother our babies with blankets to avoid showing any breast. At that time, it was seen as a shameful act, which has since changed.

–Mary Ann Kerwin[5]

In 1956 Kerwin's sister-in-law,[3] Mary White, invited her to the inaugural meeting of La Leche League at White's home. The idea for a breastfeeding advocacy organization was developed by White and Marian Tompson while they breastfed their infants at a church picnic in summer 1956.[6] At the time, American mothers interested in natural childbirth and breastfeeding received little support from the medical community.[5] In the US, only one in five newborns were breastfed from birth; most were immediately fed from bottles.[7][8] Other women approached the two to discuss their experiences breastfeeding their infants and the discouragement they had received from pediatricians.[6][9] White and Thompson decided to start a breastfeeding advocacy group and invited a few women, who invited their acquaintances; the seven founders were White, Tompson, Kerwin, Edwina Froehlich, Viola Lennon, Mary Ann Cahill, and Betty Wagner,[6] all Catholic mothers.[10] Kerwin, expecting her second child at the time, had received help from White and her husband, Dr. Gregory White, a family doctor, to successfully breastfeed her first baby.[11]

The women held several meetings at White's house in Franklin Park, Illinois, to discuss the type of information and support breastfeeding mothers would need.[12][9] They held their first official meeting on October 17, 1956[9] at White's house, attended by the seven founders and five of their acquaintances who were expecting.[13][6] Their second meeting drew 30 attendees, and the fourth attracted a standing-room-only audience.[14][6] The women developed a series of monthly educational meetings, and near the end of the decade began publishing informational material.[15] In 1958 Kerwin co-authored the group's first handbook, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.[1]

In 1960 the Kerwins moved to Denver, where they purchased the Cranmer House, residing there for three decades.[3] Kerwin founded the Colorado chapter of La Leche League and also served as chair of the international board.[1][8]

Legal career

In 1986 Kerwin earned her J.D. at the University of Denver.[1] She practiced family law and general litigation until retiring.[2]

As the Colorado Breast-feeding Task Force Legislation Representative for the Colorado Breast-feeding Coalition, Kerwin drafted several pieces of legislation on behalf of nursing women. The two that were passed into law were the 2004 Breastfeeding in Public Act and the 2008 Nursing Mothers' Act for Workplace Accommodation.[1][7] In 2006 Kerwin withdrew her draft legislation aimed at protecting a woman's right to pump breast milk in the workplace due to lack of support from the governor.[7][16]

Awards and honors

Kerwin was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2012.[1][7]

References and sources

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mary Ann Kerwin". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e Marinelli, Kathleen (2018). "An Interview with La Leche League Founders Marian Tompson and Mary Ann Kerwin, JD". Journal of Human Lactation. 34 (1): 14–19. doi:10.1177/0890334417742855. PMID 29257921.
  3. ^ a b c d "Thomas Joseph Kerwin". Horan & McConaty. 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  4. ^ Culver, Virginia (19 December 2008). "Catholic gadfly pushed church to modernize". The Denver Post. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  5. ^ a b Moreno, Nereida (12 June 2016). "La Leche League co-founder Mary White dies at 93". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e Idler 2014, p. 340.
  7. ^ a b c d Draper, Electa (9 March 2012). "Ten heavy hitters who changed their fields, state, country and world inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame". The Denver Post. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  8. ^ a b Sanko, John (5 August 1999). "Mothers sing praises of breast-milk mustache". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "The History of La Leche League". La Leche League of Wisconsin. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  10. ^ O'Reilly, Andrea (2010). Encyclopedia of Motherhood. SAGE Publications. p. 629. ISBN 978-1452266299.
  11. ^ Ward 2000, p. 11.
  12. ^ Ward 2000, pp. 11–12.
  13. ^ Ward 2000, p. 12.
  14. ^ Ward 2000, p. 13.
  15. ^ Ward 2000, pp. 16–18.
  16. ^ Cada, Chryss (1 September 2007). "Doing a baby's body good: Workplaces are making it easier for nursing mothers". ColoradoBiz. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.

Sources


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