Last week was a frenzied one on the media front, beginning with Michelle
Obama’s announcement that she would promote breastfeeding as part of her
“Let’s Move” campaign to reduce childhood obesity. This announcement
coincided with the IRS reversal of its ruling on breast pumps (refer to
message sent 2/16/11). You can also view that first article at this link:
After Michelle Obama’s statements there was political backlash from Michele
Bachmann and Sarah Palin. USBC leadership discussed this as the situation
unfolded and encouraged responses by several members and partners. There was
a huge response on the blogs as well as in some major media outlets (see
links below). Overall the erroneous statements were corrected, and the
consensus seems to have reaffirmed the status of breastfeeding as a
universal issue.
Many thanks to our partners for responding so quickly: breastfeeding has
received a great deal of attention recently! When your organization is
promoting all of this “news” to your members and constituents, we strongly
encourage you to express appreciation for the efforts of the First Lady, as
well as to Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. All three of them breastfed
their own children and have expressed strong support for breastfeeding. This
is a rare opportunity to focus on what they DO have in common!
When promoting the First Lady’s initiative and the Surgeon General’s Call to
Action, we also encourage you to mirror their messaging. Their tone of their
messaging has been very strategically crafted and honed, yet is not always
coming across as intended in the media (as can be expected). As the First
Lady and the Surgeon General have emphasized, their initiatives are not
about pressuring more women to breastfeed. The “Take Away message” could be
summarized as follows:
“Most women today choose to breastfeed. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action
to Support Breastfeeding focuses on making that choice easier for women
through policies and environmental changes to ensure that ALL women have the
support they need to meet their personal breastfeeding goals.”
Big newspaper mentions:
A Breast-Feeding Plan Mixes Partisan Reactions
Michelle Obama’s remarks on breast-feeding draw criticism from Palin, Bachmann
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