Larissa Waters breastfed her 14-week-old baby daughter while passing a motion on black lung disease thereby becoming the first mother to do so. This feat comes just one month after she became the first MP to nurse a baby in the chamber
This is not the first time MP Larissa Waters breastfed her daughter in Parliament. The senator had previously made headlines in May when she became the first woman to breastfeed in Australia’s Senate.
In May, Waters had said, “I am so proud that my daughter Alia is the first baby to be breastfed in the Federal Parliament,” Senator Waters said back in May. We need more women and parents in Parliament. And we need more family-friendly and flexible workplaces, and affordable childcare, for everyone.”
In 2016, parliamentary regulations were removed to allow mothers to breastfeed in the chamber. Earlier, children were now allowed in the chamber and breastfeeding mothers were given a proxy vote while they waited outside feeding their babies.
Such instances of women in powerful and public positions taking a stand to actively remove the stigma and ‘disgust’ associated with women breastfeeding their children in public will go along way in the larger context of gender equality around the world.
