Meet Dr. Ruth Lawrence

Today, Dr. Lawrence continues to promote, teach, write about and research breastfeeding.  She has pioneered a movement at Rochester University (where she is a professor of pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology) to educate medical students on the mechanics and benefits of breastfeeding.  Her widely received book, "Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession," is now in its fifth edition.  She was one of eight doctors who helped the American Academy of Pediatrics draft its official policy statement supporting breastfeeding.  Breastfeeding.com is honored to have Dr. Lawrence join our site as an expert advisor.

While doing her residency from 1949 to 1952, Lawrence spent a lot of time with new breastfeeding mothers who were taking part in the "rooming in" program at Yale New Haven Hospital.  It was at Yale New Haven Hospital that Lawrence gave birth to her first child, and of course, she breastfed.

"I wouldn't have thought of doing anything different," Lawrence said.

With her residency completed, Lawrence returned to Rochester, where she maintained her interest in breastfeeding.  She was earning a reputation as a breastfeeding expert.  When other doctors had patients with breastfeeding questions, they would refer those patients to Lawrence.  She would field phone calls from nursing moms with questions and make hospital visits to new moms with immediate concerns.  It was not a typical doctor-patient relationship.  Lawrence never charged a dime.

"I inadvertently became a lactation resource, and so I established for myself a library of what there was in literature at the time," she said.  "Then one thing led to another and in the middle of the 1970s, I thought, I bet I could write a book about this."

She was right.  The first edition of "Breastfeeding:  A Guide for the Medical Profession" came out in 1979.  The fifth edition of the book, which is a textbook designed for medical students, was published last December.

In the mid 1980s, the U.S. Surgeon General's office was attempting to increase the number of women who breastfed.  As part of that effort, 100 breastfeeding experts gathered in Rochester in 1984 to discuss breastfeeding issues.  At the conference, Lawrence established a relationship with the Surgeon General's office, which eventually gave her a grant to start the Breastfeeding and Human Lactation Study Center at the University of Rochester.  The center maintains a database of breastfeeding information and resources that is made available to medical professionals.  Today, Lawrence serves as director of that center.

Lawrence has been involved with various committees in Washington and she helped start the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, an organization for physicians, in 1994.  Over the years, Lawrence's focus has been improving breastfeeding education for health professionals.  At the University of Rochester, she has developed a breastfeeding curriculum for medical students.  Ask students there about the breastfeeding curriculum, and they may not even know there is one.  That's because Lawrence's approach to teaching breastfeeding is to combine it with other courses.

"We wanted it to become part of the natural flow," she said.  First-year students learn about breastfeeding in a nutrition course.  Breastfeeding is incorporated into a course on women's health taken by second-year students, and third-year students get more breastfeeding education when they are doing bedside training.  The University of Rochester also offers an elective for fourth-year students who want to learn more about breastfeeding.

Lawrence said that over the years, the medical profession's education on the benefits of breastfeeding has improved.  She noted the establishment of groups such as the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics' official recommendation in late 1997 that babies be nursed for at least one year.  Other medical organizations are beginning to work closely with the American Academy of Pediatrics to educate more medical professionals about breastfeeding.

"There has been a recognition that maybe we're right - breastfeeding is the best thing," Lawrence said.

As for new mothers who are unsure of breastfeeding, having lots of questions is normal, according to Lawrence.

"It is important to tell mothers that women are not born knowing how to breastfeed," she said.  "Any anxiety or concerns they may have are normal."

Lawrence's advice for new moms is to seek advice.  Attend a breastfeeding class that is recommended by an obstetrician or pediatrician, contact the LaLeche League and meet other breastfeeding women, she said.

"And if you have a choice of hospitals, pick one that supports breastfeeding - where the staff is people who support and are knowledgeable about breastfeeding."