Michelle Obama's Breastfeeding Advocacy: "Nanny State"
LatestCan you find something to hate in supporting breastfeeding while emphasizing every mother has to make the right choice for herself? Well, the ladies of the right can, if it involves Michelle Obama and the federal government.
Recently, the First Lady signaled that the second year of her anti-obesity initiative would focus on breastfeeding. This has gone forward with the utmost caution — her spokeswoman said, “Breastfeeding is a very personal choice for every woman. We are trying to make it easier for those who choose to do it.” And Michelle Obama herself said, “What we’re learning now is that early intervention is key. Breastfeeding. Kids who are breastfed longer have a lower tendency to be obese,” and said special effort would be made to address “the black community — where 40 percent of our babies never get breastfed at all, even in the first weeks of life.”
Separately, the federal government has made it easier for breastfeeding moms on multiple front, most recently by classifying breast pumps as health expenses (along with the likes of acne cream), and also by adding more breastfeeding counseling and supplies to the child nutrition bill, requiring some employers to provide time and space for nursing mothers in the Affordable Care Act, and requiring the same in all federal agencies.