Abstract
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.—Eleanor Roosevelt
And so, we have the opportunity to celebrate with this special issue of Breastfeeding Medicine the momentous and most joyous occasion of the 100th birthday of Dr. Ruth A. Lawrence, truly one of nature’s works of art.
To that end, we have invited colleagues of Ruth, Drs. Edward Newton and Lori Feldman-Winter, who were cofounders and board members of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) to reminisce about those pioneer and groundbreaking days when Ruth almost single-handedly created the clinical medical specialty of Breastfeeding Medicine.
In addition, the history of the establishment of the journal, Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of ABM and the critical supportive role of Mary Ann Liebert, both personally and in her position as the guiding light of the publishing house in her name, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers, is recounted by Dr. Karla Rubinger and several others.
Ruth understood that without a dedicated, peer-reviewed, evidenced-based medical journal, the clinical entity of Breastfeeding Medicine would not be recognized and related to as an equal discipline by the medical establishment. This was further testimony to Ruth’s sophistication in understanding the realities of medical politics and systems. Ruth clearly realized that to guarantee the ultimate acceptance of the subject of breastfeeding as a valid medical discipline, beyond just an issue of nutrition and advocacy and support of breastfeeding mothers, such a scientific journal was absolutely essential.
No less important is the contribution of Dr. Casey Rosen-Carole, Ruth’s first formal trainee in breastfeeding medicine, who recounts and details the process of the establishment of a recognized Division of Breastfeeding Medicine in the Pediatric Department of University of Rochester School of Medicine, Ruth’s professional academic home. The formal administrative establishment and recognition of such a Division of Breastfeeding Medicine confirmed that it is comparable and equal to other pediatric recognized subspecialties such as cardiology, infectious disease, neonatology etc.
In turn, the creation of the division essentially certified that Breastfeeding Medicine would be an integral part of the medical care of the maternal-infant dyad and, that it would be part of the required medical school curriculum and house staff educational programs. Furthermore its participation in research programs that generate evidence-based data— would clearly confirm its academic validity.
The organization of this special testimonial issue has been for us a proverbial labor of love. As is well known, the tradition in the United Kingdom has been that the reigning monarch (be it a King or Queen) would personally send a signed greeting of “warmest congratulations and heartfelt wishes” to those subjects who reached their 100th birthday milestone. Royalty is not existent in the United States, and, thus, for Ruth, these no-less-sincere wishes and tributes are from her colleagues and friends, some of which are conveyed in the following pages.
We began this introduction to the special issue with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Thus, let us conclude with another quote from her:
Yesterday is history,
tomorrow is a mystery,
but today is a gift.
That’s why it’s called the present.
Ruth’s past contributions are of historical importance and consequence, which the mystical future will relate to in its own way. But her greatness is today, the here and now, and for that we are eternally grateful for the present of her presence, relevance, and continuing inspiration.
