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Michelle Obama to promote breastfeeding as IRS gives tax breaks for nursing

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First lady Michelle Obama will be speaking out to remove barriers to breastfeeding, Politics Daily has learned, throwing the spotlight on nursing as a way to reduce childhood obesity.

This comes as the Obama administration in the past year has made several moves to encourage breastfeeding — including a push for more flexible workplace rules and an Internal Revenue Service ruling on Thursday that breast pumps and other nursing supplies qualify for tax breaks.

Mrs. Obama — who has spoken in public about nursing her youngest daughter, Sasha — is going to tread carefully in what might be a sensitive area for some women — and not use her bully pulpit to directly ask more women to breast feed.

“Breastfeeding is a very personal choice for every woman,” Kristina Schake, Mrs. Obama’s communications chief, told Politics Daily. “We are trying to make it easier for those who choose to do it.”

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