On Wednesday, June 7, MP Gilda Sportiello became the first woman to breastfed her child in Italy's Parliament. The 36-year-old lawmaker fed her two-month-old son Frederico in the Chamber of Deputies amid a round of applause, marking a significant moment in the nation's political history.
The rest of the MPs encouraged her by clapping and her decision to do so was highly praised in Italy's Parliament. She became the first member to do so in the Lower House of Parliament. While other countries have witnessed breastfeeding in parliament in the past, Italy had not, primarily due to its male-dominated political landscape, where approximately two-thirds of lawmakers are men.
Giorgio Mule presided over this parliamentary session. He said that this happened for the first time when a Member of Parliament with the support of all parties breastfed her child. In Italy in November 2022, women members of Parliament were allowed to enter the house with their children and get breastfeeding done.
A recent change in Italy’s parliamentary rules allowed women lawmakers to bring their children into the chamber and breastfeed them up to the age of one.
Gilda Sportiello is an MP of the leftist Five-Star Movement Party. She said that due to hectic work, many women stop feeding their infants prematurely.
In October 2022, Giorgia Meloni became Italy's first woman Prime Minister. Two-thirds of the MPs in the Italian Parliament are men.
