Edwina Froehlich

January 5, 1915–June 8, 2008

Edwina Froehlich of Inverness, Illinois, co-founder of La Leche League International and co-author of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which has over 2 million copies in print, died at 5 am on Sunday, June 8, 2008 at Northwest Community hospital in Arlington Heights after suffering a stroke on May 25.

In 1956, Edwina Froehlich and six other women met in Franklin Park, Illinois to share information on how to successfully breastfeed their babies. The group quickly attracted the attention of other women and became an organization called La Leche League. “In those days you didn’t mention ‘breast’ in print,” Froehlich once said. “We knew that if we were ever going to get anything in the paper we would have to find a name that wouldn’t actually tell people what our organization was about.” The breastfeeding support group took the Spanish name for milk as its name. From these roots grew La Leche League International, a breastfeeding support not-for-profit organization, which has groups in every U.S. state and in 68 different countries. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding has been translated into eight languages and Braille.

Betty Wagner Spandikow, another of the seven Founders of La Leche League International, said after meeting Edwina Froehlich for the first time, “Everything she said I agreed with. All evening I listened intently as Edwina talked. She was so vivacious and interesting.”

Edwina was a member of the Board of Directors of La Leche League, and at various times served as Secretary, Treasurer and Vice Chairman of that group. She also worked at La Leche League International as Executive Secretary from 1956 until her retirement in 1983. Edwina, according to her co-founders, had an indomitable spirit. When difficulties stood in the way of La Leche League she said, “We are not going to let this kind of thing get in the way. This is a problem that we are going to have to live through, and work through, and resolve, so that we can continue to do what we originally set out to do—help mothers successfully breastfeed their babies.”

Born Edwina Hearn on January 5, 1915 in Bronx, New York, she attended Mundelein College in Chicago, Illinois, later married John Francis Froehlich and had three children. Preceeded in death by her husband in 1997, she is survived by her three sons: Paul Froehlich, David Froehlich and Peter Froehlich; three daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Edwina Froehlich Memorial Fund, La Leche League International, 957 N. Plum Grove Road, P.O. Box 4079, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA 60168-4079, phone 847.519.7730, www.llli.org.

The memorial service celebrating the life of Founder Edwina Froehlich will be on Saturday, July 12 at Elk Grove High School, 500 W. Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007.