About La Leche League Group
La Leche League's Mission
To help mothers to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information and education, and to promote a better understanding, of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and the mother.
La Leche League - The Beginning
La Leche League began with a wish - a dream, really - that all mothers who wanted to breastfeed their babies would be able to do so.
LLL was founded by seven mothers to help their friends, who were wanting to breastfeed their babies but found only frustration and failure when they tried. They invited pregnant friends to a meeting one October evening in 1956. What they offered to interested local mothers then - and what the 40,000 La Leche League Leaders who followed them, continue to provide - was information, encouragement, and support.
La Leche League International
Has grown into a world-wide organisation with 3,000 mother-to-mother support groups in over sixty countries plus many other outreach programmes. Wherever an LLL group blossoms the focus remains the same - to offer accurate breastfeeding information backed by warm, caring, mother-to-mother support so that new mothers (whatever their place or circumstance) can gain the confidence they need to breastfeed their babies.
Stands today as the internationally recognised authority on breastfeeding, contacted by mothers, fathers, doctors, nurses, lactation consultants and other professionals throughout the world.
with International headquarters in Illinois, USA, LLLI serves as a Non-Governmental Organisation Consultant to UNICEF, an agency of the United Nations, and the World Health Organisation, and contributes its expertise to many other organisations, agencies and alliances around the world.
La Leche League GB
Is one of six La Leche League, in-country organisations which stand in Affiliate status with La Leche League International (LLLI) - the others being in Canada, French Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland.
Started as an LLLI Area in approx 1971, registered as a UK charity in 1981, and became an LLLI Affiliate in 1984.
Has over 200 accredited Leaders, 75 local groups, and around 150 LLLGB-trained Peer Counsellor Programmes spread throughout Great Britain.
Has a small number of administrative staff; but much of the work of running the organisation is carried out by the volunteer-Leaders, who also run local groups and work directly with mothers.
La Leche League GB Trustees
Is governed by a Council of Directors (the trustees), elected mainly from amongst the body of volunteer-Leaders:
- Anna Burbidge - Chair
- Sue Cardus - General Director
- Helen Hannibal - General Director
- Chris Lewis - General Director
- Linda Rowland - Leader Accreditation Department Director
- Helen Russ - Leader Department Director
Two new directors have recently been co-opted - Morgan Gallagher and Rebecca Jenkins-Handy - welcome to them. Jane Gilbert has recently retired for family reasons. More directors are being sought, both inside and outside the organisation, to bring a broad skill-base to the work of the trustees. If you have relevant experience and would be interested in helping us to further our mission by serving on our Council of Directors, please contact us.
La Leche League GB Financial Reports
For further information about LLLGB, please read our
La Leche League Philosophy
La Leche League's philosophy is encapsulated in these concept statements and is realised in a practical way in the pages of our world-wide best-seller The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.
La Leche League believes that breastfeeding, with its many important physical and psychological advantages, is best for both a mother and her baby, and is the ideal way to initiate good parent-child relationships. The loving help and support of the father enables the mother to focus on mothering so that together the parents develop close relationships which strengthen the family and thus the whole fabric of society.
La Leche League further believes that mothering through breastfeeding deepens a mother's understanding and acceptance of the responsibilities and rewards of her special role in the family. As a woman grows in mothering she grows as a human being and every other role she may fill in her lifetime is enriched by the insights and humanity she brings to it from her experiences as a mother.
La Leche League's purpose is distinct. This singleness of purpose does not prevent interaction with other organisations with compatible purposes, but La Leche League will carefully guard against allying with another cause, however worthwhile that cause may be.
La Leche League philosophy is based on 10 concepts:
- Mothering through breastfeeding is the most natural and effective way of understanding and satisfying the needs of the baby
- Mother and baby need to be together early and often to establish a satisfying relationship and an adequate milk supply
- In the early years the baby has an intense need to be with his mother which is as basic as his need for food
- Breast milk is the superior infant food
- For the healthy, full-term baby breast milk is the only food necessary until the baby shows signs of needing solids, about the middle of the first year after birth
- Ideally the breastfeeding relationship will continue until the baby outgrows the need
- Alert, active participation by the mother in childbirth is a help in getting breastfeeding off to a good start
- Breastfeeding is enhanced and the nursing couple sustained by the loving support, help and companionship of the baby's father. A father's unique relationship with his baby is an important element of the child's development from early infancy
- Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible
- From infancy on, children need loving guidance which reflects acceptance of their capabilities and sensitivity to their feelings