On Wednesday, legislator Gilda Sportiello breastfed her son Federico in the Chamber of Deputies, setting off a round of applause from other members. This was the first time a baby had ever sat in the Italian parliament.

In many other nations, the incident might be more commonplace, but in traditionally male-dominated Italy, the acting lower-house speaker highlighted it.

"It's the first time, and all parties support it. As he presided over the legislative meeting, Giorgio Mule wished Federico a long, happy, and free life.

We will now converse discreetly.

A parliamentary rules subcommittee approved female MPs to bring their babies into the chamber and nurse them up to the age of one in November of last year.

Sportiello, a member of the left-leaning 5-Star Movement, claimed that "too many women stop breastfeeding ahead of time, not by choice, but rather because they are forced to return to the workplace."

Although Giorgia Meloni became Italy's first female prime minister in October, over two-thirds of the nation's MPs are male.

Despite the fact that the occurrence on Wednesday was a first for Italy, Licia Ronzulli, who is currently a senator for the center-right Forza Italia party, breastfed her daughter in Strasbourg during the European Parliament session 13 years prior.

(DVR/Newswise)