A year ago we announced that Australia would allow members of parliament to breastfeed or bottle feed their babies inside the enclosure and Australian Senator Larissa Waters has been the first to enjoy this right in your workplace.
After returning from her maternity leave, she returned to work with her second daughter Alia Joy in her arms and when she asked for it He did not hesitate to breastfeed her in Parliament. Naturally, as it should be. Yes, yes!
When her baby was born, the senator from Queensland had announced that she would go to Parliament with her and breastfeed her on her return. Australia has a maternity leave of up to one year, but this is not remunerated, and on the other hand, the new parliamentary rules do not prevent parents with babies in their care from participating in it, so the mother considered that It was a good time to reappear.
Proud of to have made history Being the first mother to breastfeed in Parliament, the senator for the Green Party shared this photo on her Twitter account:
So proud that my daughter Alia is the first baby to be breastfed in the federal Parliament! We need more #women & parents in Parli #auspol pic.twitter.com/w34nxWxG0y
- Larissa Waters (@larissawaters) May 9, 2017
“I am proud that my daughter Alia is the first baby to be breastfed in the Federal Parliament. We need more women and mothers in Parliament! ”
He also shared it on his Facebook account:
"We need more flexible and family-friendly workplaces, and affordable child care for everyone."
It shouldn't be news, but it is
You will say that it is normal, that breastfeeding your baby is the most natural, and that such a fact should not be news, but unfortunately it still is. Still in many places It is frowned upon that a mother breastfeeds her baby in public places (be they restaurants, airplanes, shops, etc.), and even more so in the mother's workplace, especially if it is a place as solemn as a parliament.
Larissa herself has just shared on her Facebook profile the photo of Australian parliamentarian Kirstie Marshall, who in 2003 was expelled from Parliament for breastfeeding her 11-day-old baby. Fortunately, things are changing but there is still a long way to go in many countries. For now, it is still news that a senator returns to work with her baby and chest in full parliamentary session.
Other parliamentarians with their babies
In Iceland, a legislator intervened in Parliament breastfeeding her baby (and nobody seemed to care). They took it with such naturalness, that no one made any gesture of strangeness, reproach or call her to order.
In Spain I don't think it will happen so unnoticed. In fact, there was a huge stir when a year and a half ago the deputy Carolina Bescansa appeared in Congress with her baby in her arms, and that was not seen breastfeeding.
But it was not the only one, five other deputies took their babies to Congress combining their work facet with their mother role. The one that had the most impact was Europarliamentary Licia Ronzulli, who set a trend five years ago by attending a vote in Parliament with his one-month-old daughter in a scarf.
