La Leche League co-founder dies at 85

One of the co-founders of the breast-feeding advocacy group La Leche League International has died. She was 85.

Betty Wagner Spandikow died Sunday in Glen Ellyn. Group spokeswoman Jane Crouse says Spandikow suffered a stroke two years ago.

Spandikow was one of seven suburban women who founded the organization in 1956, naming it for the Spanish word for milk so meeting notices could be printed in newspapers without offending anyone.

She co-authored "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding," which has sold more than 2 million copies.

Spandikow was the group's CEO for 19 years until her retirement in 1991. She started family-friendly policies such as flex time before other organizations adopted such practices.