For more than twenty-five years, Kathleen Huggins, RN, MS, has dedicated her medical career to helping mothers care more effectively for their newborn babies. Kathleen is a Registered Nurse and has a Masters Degree in Perinatal Nursing from UC San Francisco. She moved to San Luis Obispo in 1980 with her young daughter to work at San Luis Obispo General Hospital. Quickly she became a community resource for breastfeeding mothers. In 1983, she founded the Breastfeeding Warmline, a telephone counseling service and soon after, one of the first breastfeeding clinics in the country.
Kathleen authored "The Nursing Mother's Companion" in 1986 which quickly became a best-seller. It is now in its fifth edition and has sold over one million copies. She gave birth to her second child and wrote a second book, "The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning".
Kathleen directed the SLO Breastfeeding Clinic for more than twenty years until her diagnosis of breast cancer and her retirement in 2004. In 2002, Kathleen opened Simply MaMa, a maternity and nursing boutique in downtown San Luis. She leads seminars on a variety of topics related to perinatal care and breastfeeding. She lives with her husband and son in San Luis Obispo.
