Italian lawmaker Gilda Sportiello became the first politician to breastfeed in the country's parliament on Wednesday. Sportiello breastfed her son Federico in the Chamber of Deputies to a thunderous applause from fellow members, who also wished her son "a long, free, and peaceful life". A parliamentary panel had, in November, allowed women MPs to breastfeed their children in the chamber up to the age of one and Sportiello played an important role in helping the rule to be passed.
"It's the first time, with the backing of all parties. Best wishes to Federico for a long, free, and peaceful life," Giorgio Mule who chaired the parliamentary session was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Women lawmakers were allowed to enter the chamber with their children and breastfeed them by the parliamentary rules panel in November last year .
"Too many women stop breastfeeding ahead of time, not by choice, but rather because they are forced to return to the workplace," said the 36-year-old lawmaker Sportiello, who is from the left-leaning Five Star Movement and a passionate advocate for women's rights.
Though, the event is common in many countries, it is a milestone for Italy which is traditionally male-dominated. Around two-thirds of the country's lawmakers are men.
The new rule allowing breastfeeding came into effect after a proposal put forward by Giorgia Meloni, who became Italy's first woman prime minister, in October 2019.
In November of the same year, a special breastfeeding room was inaugurated in the parliament buildings dedicated to nursing mothers.
While the event on Wednesday was a first for Italy, 13 years ago Licia Ronzulli, now a senator in the centre-right Forza Italia party, breastfed her daughter in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, reported Reuters.