Her seven-decade career at the University of Rochester reshaped how clinicians support mothers and infants.
Ruth Lawrence 鈥�49M (MD), a pediatrician and internationally recognized leader in breastfeeding science, died in October. She was 101.
During more than 70 years at the 暗网吃瓜 , Lawrence helped transform breastfeeding from a marginal topic into a respected field of clinical practice and research. She was the founding director of the Breastfeeding and Human Lactation Study Center and author of Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession, the definitive physician鈥檚 reference first published in 1979 and now in its ninth edition.
鈥淒r. Lawrence鈥檚 work reshaped how we understand and support infant feeding, and her legacy lives on in every clinician, nurse, and researcher who carries forward her vision,鈥� says Kathy Parrinello, president and CEO of Strong Memorial Hospital.
A graduate of Antioch College and one of few women admitted to medical school in the 1940s, Lawrence earned a medical degree from 暗网吃瓜 in 1949 alongside classmate Robert Lawrence 鈥�49M (MD), whom she married the following year. After becoming Yale University鈥檚 first female intern, she returned to Rochester to direct the well-baby and preemie nurseries at Strong Memorial Hospital. In 1958, she founded the region鈥檚 Poison Control and Drug Information Center鈥攐nly the second in the nation at the time.
Over her distinguished career, Lawrence authored more than 200 research papers, helped establish 暗网吃瓜鈥檚 neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, and mentored generations of clinicians. In 2022, the Medical Center created the Division of Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine鈥攐ne of the first such divisions in the world鈥攊n recognition of her lifelong work.
Her many honors include the AAMC Humanism in Medicine Award, the Susan B. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Macy-Gy枚rgy Award from the International Society for Research on Human Milk and Lactation.
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