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Member Of Parliament Breastfeeds Baby While In Session

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Grace Carr Reporter
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An Australian politician passed a motion while breastfeeding her child Wednesday, becoming the first senator to breastfeed in Parliament while initiating legislature.

Sen. Larissa Waters, draped in a white towel, was in the middle of breastfeeding her three-month-old daughter in the Senate chamber when she called to pass a motion on black lung disease, according to CTV News.

But this isn’t the first time Waters gained international attention for breastfeeding.

She became the first politician to breastfeed her baby in federal Parliament in Australia back in May, following a 2016 ruling allowing mothers to breastfeed in the chamber.

Her daughter Alia Joy has since made regular appearances in the Senate chamber, and even attended a charity ball for politicians and journalists.

“First time I’ve had to move a Senate motion while breastfeeding! And my partner in crime moved her own motion just before mine, bless her,” Waters tweeted about the event later Wednesday.

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Mothers previously had to leave the chamber to breastfeed and were required to get a proxy for votes, according to The Telegraph.

Waters has been outspoken about allowing parents into Parliament to care for their child and urges more women to breastfeed in session. She helped expand breastfeeding rules in the Senate so that new parents can care for their infants while on the Parliament floor in 2016. 

“I am so proud that my daughter Alia is the first baby to be breastfed in the Federal Parliament,” Waters said in May. “We need more women and parents in Parliament. And we need more family-friendly and flexible workplaces, and affordable childcare, for everyone,” she added.

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