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A decade of partnerships and success
In 10 short years, the Foundation has taken great strides to reestablish breastfeeding as the norm in modern society. At the heart of this story are the people who have become our partners along the way. We are delighted to introduce a few of the many we have been so fortunate to collaborate with. Meet them in this commemorative ebook or download PDFs in English or German. Where available, extended interviews in original languages can be found in the timeline below.
We hope you enjoy the highlights our partners have shared, in their own words, joining us in revitalizing the journey from science to impact.
Branching out and deepening our roots
2023 has developed as a year of intense learning. As results from the different operationalization and knowledge translation projects emerge, critical gaps and promising ways forward are becoming apparent, providing the basis for the acceleration of the Foundation’s effectiveness for years to come. We are excited to meet what will come next on this journey from science to impact.
Andrea Weber and Sula Anderegg
Swiss Federation of Midwives, Executive Director, and Swiss breastfeeding alliance Board Member and Representative, respectively
To interview
Testing operationalization in Ghana and translating knowledge globally
Having developed a robust concept for the operationalization of breastfeeding policy, we partnered with the Ministry of Health and the Ubora Institute in Ghana to test the concept and create an implementation platform for the government. Seeing the vital need to translate evidence into easily accessible information for practitioners, politicians, journalists and the public, we crystallized this insight in a partnership with Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta at The Aga Khan University, launching a comprehensive knowledge translation project.
Professor Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta
Aga Khan University, Principal Investigator, Translation of Research-Based Breastfeeding Knowledge: Making the Latest Science Accessible
To interviewDr. Ernest Konadu Asiedu
Public Health Physician Specialist (Healthcare Improvement Advisor/Field Epidemiologist), National Centre for Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanism, Ministry of Health, Ghana, Co-Creator of the Breastmilk for Life – Ghana project
To interview
Building a community breastfeeding room and an ethics framework
Ethical considerations are crucial in work with breastfeeding mothers and infants. Keenly aware of this, the Foundation partnered early on with Nikola Biller-Andorno at the University of Zurich to embed thorough ethical reviews into all its activities. This activity inspired EFBRI. Launched in 2021, EFBRI brought a sound ethics framework to the public. We also built a public breastfeeding room at our office, giving back to the community and providing us with first-hand experience on a topic we wish to expand.
Professor Nikola Biller-Andorno
University of Zurich, Principal Investigator, EFBRI – An Evolving Ethical Framework Informing Breastfeeding Research and Interventions
To interviewDr. med. Sarah Dörig
Physician, Mother and Visitor at the Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Breastfeeding Room
To interview
Launching a new resource and a strategic Foundation pillar
While generating the operational concept to close the gap between policy and sustainable implementation at scale, we launched a pillar of our long-term strategy – LactaHub, the online knowledge platform for evidence-based breastfeeding knowledge, with The Global Health Network pioneered by the University of Oxford. PROVIDE, a video-based training tool promoting mothers’ own milk in neonatal intensive care developed by Paula Meier at Rush University Medical Center, also launched, contributing new resources to the field.
Professor Trudie Lang
Global Health Research and Head of The Global Health Network, University of Oxford, on the launch of LactaHub
To interviewProfessor Paula P. Meier
Rush University Medical Center, Creator of PROVIDE – A Training Compendium on Providing Mothers’ Own Milk in NICU Settings
To interview
Honoring a mentor and embarking on a major strategic drive
This year brought the launch of LactaMap, a lactation support tool that was inspired by Peter E. Hartmann. Peter, passing away too early in 2021, provided invaluable guidance and mentorship to the Foundation, which we would like to honor here. 2019 also marked the beginning of what was to become a major strategic drive for the Foundation in revitalizing the journey from science to impact – the operationalization of breastfeeding policy.
Endowing two new research centers
2018 saw the culmination of the Foundation’s aim to address key knowledge gaps via endowments with two further centers targeting two further important topics: the behavioral economics of breastfeeding at LRF CEB, which is building a better understanding of the decision processes and the socioeconomic outcomes of breastfeeding, and the endocrinology of breastfeeding at LRF OCEHL, which strives to help mothers with physiological breastfeeding issues.
Professor Fadil Hannan
Director, Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Oxford Centre for the Endocrinology of Human Lactation (LRF OCEHL), University of Oxford
To interviewProfessor Ernst Fehr
Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Center for Economics of Breastfeeding (LRF CEB), University of Zurich
To interview
Closing research gaps and supporting implementation
Expanding our understanding on the complexities of the field, we continued to close research gaps and moved towards supporting the implementation of results. Partnering with UCSD and Lars Bode, we endowed a third center, LRF MOMI CORE, focused on innovations in breastmilk research. In addition, the BBF tool created by Rafael Pérez-Escamilla at Yale was launched, allowing countries to assess their readiness to scale up breastfeeding.
Professor Lars Bode
Director, Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence (LRF MOMI CORE), University of California San Diego
To interviewProfessor Rafael Pérez-Escamilla
Yale School of Public Health, Principal Investigator, Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF): A Guide to Global Scale Up
To interview
Addressing critical issues
Moving on, the Foundation wanted to address two other critically important issues. One was disseminating international growth and feeding standards for infants born preterm by funding INTERPRACTICE-21st at the University of Oxford. The other was inspiring and supporting early scientists to advance in the field of breastmilk research and develop their professional skills through the TEP scholarship program, together with ISRHML.
Dr. Sara Moukarzel
Education Studies Researcher and Program Manager, University of California San Diego, on the Trainee Expansion Program (TEP)
To interviewProfessor José Villar and Professor Stephen Kennedy
University of Oxford, Principal Investigators, INTERPRACTICE-21st
To interview
Establishing roots for the long term
As a pioneer in the field of supporting breastfeeding mothers, Michael Larsson had a keen sense of the knowledge gaps – he was also adamant that sound science be the basis for filling them. So it is not surprising that the first projects focused on endowing two research centers, LRF CIBF in Perth and LRF NGN in Zurich, to address critical questions and lay the groundwork for the Foundation’s contribution to generating essential, evidence-based knowledge in the field.
Professor Giancarlo Natalucci
Director, Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Center for Neurodevelopment, Growth and Nutrition of the Newborn (LRF NGN), University of Zurich
To interviewProfessor Valerie Verhasselt
Director, Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation Centre for Immunology and Breastfeeding (LRF CIBF), The University of Western Australia
To interview
10 years of science to impact
The Foundation took its first steps towards bringing the founding family’s vision to life: “A world where every child has an optimum start in life through the benefits of breastmilk”. These early days were devoted to connecting with experts, attending global conferences, learning the landscape and building relationships. In short, planting the strategic seeds for long-term, sustainable solutions in child and maternal health.
Michael Larsson and Göran Larsson
Honorary President, Founding President 2013–2017 and Vice President, President 2017–2021, respectively
Founding Family Members: The Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation
To thank you