Betty Wagner Spandikow
Encyclopedia
Betty Redmond Wagner Spandikow (September 27, 1923 — October 26, 2008) was a founder of the La Leche League (aka LLL; LLLI). She was a co-author of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which has been translated into eight languages and Braille
.
She was born in 1923 to a Roman Catholic family and raised in the Chicago
area. She worked in accounting before starting her family. In 1956, she and six other women met in Franklin Park
to share information on how to successfully breastfeed their babies. The group attracted the attention of other women.
The group had been fascinated by the importance placed on breastfeeding by early Spanish settlers in what is now the United States, who in 1598, dedicated a shrine to “Nuestra Senora de la Leche y Buen Parto” (“Our Lady of Happy Delivery and Plentiful Milk”).
La Leche League International (LLLI), a breastfeeding support not-for-profit organization, now has groups in every U.S. state and in 64 nations. Spandikow was a member of the Board of Directors for the League, and at various times served as Treasurer, Business Manager, and Executive Director, a title she held for 19 years until she retired at the age of 70. She initiated "flex hours" and a family-friendly workplace in the 1960s, long before they became commonplace.
The business hours at La Leche League International were flexible to facilitate new mothers spending more after-school time with their children.
at the time of her death at the age of 85 on October 26, 2008.
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
.
She was born in 1923 to a Roman Catholic family and raised in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area. She worked in accounting before starting her family. In 1956, she and six other women met in Franklin Park
Franklin Park, Illinois
Franklin Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,800 at the 2004 census.-Geography:Franklin Park is located at ....
to share information on how to successfully breastfeed their babies. The group attracted the attention of other women.
The group had been fascinated by the importance placed on breastfeeding by early Spanish settlers in what is now the United States, who in 1598, dedicated a shrine to “Nuestra Senora de la Leche y Buen Parto” (“Our Lady of Happy Delivery and Plentiful Milk”).
La Leche League International (LLLI), a breastfeeding support not-for-profit organization, now has groups in every U.S. state and in 64 nations. Spandikow was a member of the Board of Directors for the League, and at various times served as Treasurer, Business Manager, and Executive Director, a title she held for 19 years until she retired at the age of 70. She initiated "flex hours" and a family-friendly workplace in the 1960s, long before they became commonplace.
The business hours at La Leche League International were flexible to facilitate new mothers spending more after-school time with their children.
Family
Her first husband, Robert Wagner, by whom she had seven children, died in 1975. She married secondly, to Paul Spandikow.Death
Betty Wagner Spandikow had suffered a stroke and been dealing with Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
at the time of her death at the age of 85 on October 26, 2008.