A baby took a seat in Italy’s parliament for the first time on Wednesday, when lawmaker Gilda Sportiello breastfed her son Federico in the Chamber of Deputies, drawing a round of applause from her peers.
The event would be more common in many countries, but was highlighted by the interim president of the lower house in a traditionally male-dominated Italy.
Bipartisan applause erupted Wednesday when Gilda Sportiello, a member of the Lower House of Deputies, breastfed her two-month-old son during a legislative vote, becoming the first woman to do so in Italy’s parliament. (AP)
“It is the first time, with the support of all the parties. My best wishes to Federico for a long, free and peaceful life”, said Giorgio Mule as he presided over the parliamentary session. “Now we will speak quietly.”
In November last year, a parliamentary rules panel gave the go-ahead for women lawmakers to enter the chamber with their children and breastfeed them until the age of one.
“Too many women stop breastfeeding early, not by choice, but because they are forced to return to the workplace,” said Sportiello, of the left-leaning 5 Star Movement.
Giorgia Meloni took over in October as First female Prime Minister of Italybut about two-thirds of the country’s legislators are men.
While Wednesday’s event was a first in Italy, 13 years ago Licia Ronzulli, now a senator in the center-right Forza Italia party, breastfed her daughter at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.