Mary Ann Kerwin

Mary Ann Kerwin
Women and Children’s Health Advocate
1931 -
INDUCTED 2012

Through the Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition, Kerwin spearheaded state legislation to protect the rights of women to breastfeed at work and in public places.

At a time when doctors routinely advised new mothers to give formula to babies, Mary Ann Kerwin and a few friends thought otherwise. They founded La Leche League International (LLLI) in 1956 to provide support and education for women who wanted to return to nature’s way. Kerwin established and led the Colorado chapter of LLLI while raising eight children. She traveled the world battling efforts to force women in developing countries to use baby formula (often mixed with polluted water) instead of breast milk. Today there are thousands of LLLI groups in more than 60 countries, and the United Nations considers breast milk the healthiest option for new babies.

“In 1956, breastfeeding in the United States was a lost or dying art. I believe that never before in the history of the world had a resource as valuable as human milk been so widely discarded.” — Mary Ann Kerwin