Rightwingers Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann scorn US first lady's effort to give tax breaks to mothers for breast pumps

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Michelle Obama's campaign to encourage breastfeeding among American mothers has become the unlikely focus of an attack by two prominent rightwing politicians.

Tea Party favourites Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann have used Obama's breastfeeding drive as a stick with which to beat her.

Bachmann began the onslaught by ridiculing the first lady's support for this week's decision to award tax breaks to mothers for the cost of breast pumps.

"I've given birth to five babies and I breastfed every single one of these babies," she told the conservative Laura Ingraham's radio talkshow. "To think that government has to go out and buy my breast pump for my babies. You wanna talk about the nanny state? I think we just got the new definition of nanny."

Palin waded in during an event with business leaders in Long Island. "It's no wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody you better breastfeed your baby," she quipped. "Yeah, you better – because the price of milk is so high right now!"

The White House hit back with a comment from the first lady's office: "Breastfeeding is a very personal choice for every woman, and we are trying to make it easier for those who choose to do it."

Obama's interest in breastfeeding is an extension of her effort to reduce obesity levels among children. The campaign has helped foster initiatives from her husband's administration to remove barriers to breastfeeding, including legislation that obliges some employers to provide time and dedicated spaces for women workers to nurse their children in private.

Breastfeeding is said to give protection against allergies, asthma and other ailments and is considered beneficial in America's fight against soaring youth obesity.

Obesity is especially prevalent in African American families, who also have lower rates of breastfeeding: 40% of African American babies never receive any breast milk, even in the first days of life.

In the past 30 years, obesity levels among US children have tripled and now almost one in three are overweight or obese. The trend has led to a diabetes epidemic.

A recent study from Harvard Medical School estimated that if the rate of breastfeeding in US families could be raised to 90% for six months after birth, 900 infant deaths per year would be prevented and $13bn (£8bn) saved in medical fees and other economic impacts.

At current levels, about 75% of American mothers begin breastfeeding, but the figure drops to 43% by the time the baby is six months old.

Palin's jibe at Obama is particularly puzzling given her own record in politics. MediaMatters, a misinformation monitoring website, pointed out that when she was governor of Alaska she introduced a breastfeeding awareness month.