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Australian Senator Becomes First To Breastfeed On Parliament Floor

Australian Senator Becomes First To Breastfeed On Parliament Floor

An Australian lawmaker and her infant daughter made history on Tuesday.

Greens senator Larissa Waters became the first person to breastfeed in Australia’s federal Parliament. According to Sky News, 2-month-old Alia was the first baby to nurse in the federal Parliament after rules were changed last year to allow politicians to bring their children to work.

The senator shared a photo of the historic moment on Twitter.

“So proud that my daughter Alia is the first baby to be breastfed in the federal Parliament!” she tweeted. “We need more #women & parents in Parli.”

The tweet had received over 2,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon. Waters also shared a news segment about her viral breastfeeding moment on Facebook, where she noted, “We need more family-friendly and flexible workplaces, and affordable childcare, for everyone.”

Waters is the latest in a slew of women politicians who have nursed their babies in parliaments throughout the world.

In October, Icelandic Member of Parliament Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir breastfed her infant daughter while defending a bill.

In January 2016, Spanish parliamentarian Carolina Bescansa nursed her 5-month-old son, Diego, at work in an effort to reportedly highlight the struggles working mothers face.

Spanish politician Carolina Bescansa nursed her 5-month-old son, Diego, in parliament.
Juan Medina / Reuters
Spanish politician Carolina Bescansa nursed her 5-month-old son, Diego, in parliament.

And in July 2015, Argentinian legislator and human rights activist Victoria Donda PĂ©rez attracted a lot of attention for breastfeeding her 8-month-old daughter, Trilce, during a parliamentary session.

While the politicians received some backlash, they stood by their decisions to feed their babies.

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