Lamaze International

Founded in 1960 as the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis, the organization was later known as ASPO/Lamaze and Lamaze International. The Lamaze method of childbirth involved the psychological and physical preparation by the mother for the purpose of suppressing pain and facilitating delivery without drugs. Originally a medical society, it was soon organized into 3 divisions: physicians, professionals and teachers, and parents. Two of the earliest organizers were Marjorie Karmel, author of Thank You, Dr. Lamaze (1959) and Elisabeth Bing, a physical therapist who became one of the country's leading proponents of the method.