LaLeche of MARIVT

Saturday Evening Speaker:

Mary Ann Cahill, one of the seven founders of La Leche League, now lives in McHenry, IL, approximately 50 miles northwest of Franklin Park, IL, where she and her late husband, Chuck, started their family and where the League began in 1956.

She retired at the end of 2007 from her position as Stewardship Coordinator at The Church of Holy Apostles in McHenry and now continues to work as a volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which reaches out to the needy in the area with financial and other support in emergency situations.

Mary Ann is proud of her two daughters, Elizabeth Rickert, the oldest, and Frances Brunow, the youngest, as well as a dear niece, Madaline Yanov, for their service as La Leche League Leaders. The Cahill kids, nine plus one, are now on their own and living in five different states – CO, MA, WI, IL and FL. Mom/Grandma feels blessed in having 20 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren (with another on the way) and while she looks forward to the big family gatherings at holidays and other special occasions, she really treasures the smaller, more intimate visits. Mary Ann rejoined the LLLI Board of Directors in 2008 and sees her work on the Board as a challenge but also, she says, "as a way to make a positive difference for La Leche League, to keep it alive and strong for mothers and babies in the future."
A Quote To Think On: '... (La Leche League) is seeking - by supporting mothers in this important early decision of motherhood - to help women to know themselves, to know the nature of womanly work, to know the critical contribution of woman to stable family life, and to help women become exemplars of dedication to duty with joy as a reward.' ~ Herbert Ratner, M.D. Forward. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding; 1958 edition.

Lawrence Cohen, PhD, is a psychologist, author, and consultant. He is the author of Playful Parenting, an award-winning book about nurturing close connections, solving behavior problems, and encouraging children’s confidence. In addition to his work with children and parents, he consults with schools, after school programs, and corporations, and has a general psychotherapy practice. Along with Michael Thompson and Catherine O’Neill Grace, Dr. Cohen is the author of two books on children’s friendships, popularity, and social cruelty: Best Friends Worst Enemies and Mom They’re Teasing Me. He is also the author of numerous articles, including a series in Nick Jr. Family Magazine that won the Golden Lamp Award from Education Press.

Catherine Watson Genna BS, IBCLC is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in private practice in New York City. Certified in 1992, Catherine is particularly interested in helping moms and babies breastfeed when they have medical challenges. She speaks to healthcare professionals around the world on assisting breastfeeding babies with anatomical, genetic or neurological problems. Her presentations and her writing feature her clinical photographs, which have also been published widely. Her team has just wrapped up a research project using ultrasound to examine tongue movements of babies with tongue-tie before and after frenotomy (office treatment) and is preparing to publish. Her current project looks at coordination of swallowing and breathing in babies with posterior tongue-tie. She is the author of Selecting and Using Breastfeeding Tools: Improving Care and Outcomes (Hale 2009) and Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants (Jones and Bartlett Publishers 2008 - with a second edtion available in December 2011) as well as professional journal articles. Catherine is still an active La Leche League Leader and runs a monthly toddler meeting in Queens as well as an online group. Catherine currently serves as Associate Editor for the United States Lactation Consultant Association journal Clinical Lactation. Her own two offspring (who were of course breastfed!) are currently in graduate school.