Women in Congress seem to be increasingly younger of late, bringing a new aspect to life in the House. These aren’t just young smart high achieving ladies; many of them are new moms. Previous generations of female politicians tended to wait until their children were older before running for office, but times are changing.

Many lawmakers have given birth recently while in office. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Democrat of South Dakota, who had a boy, Zachary, in December; Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, who had a boy, Henry, last May, when she was a member of the House; and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Republican of Washington, who had a boy, Cole, in May 2007.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who just welcomed a new grand daughter to her family a few weeks ago, took some major steps in making the balance between new motherhood and life on the Hill.  A hideaway office was changed into a lactation room for all the new moms in Washington. Not just the new moms in Congress but staff and press as well. All groups seeing an increasing amount of new moms.

Speaker Pelosi is truly leading by example by showing how easy it can be to create a positive working environment that helps women balance motherhood with a career. In many states though breastfeeding in public is allowed, they still do not require employers to provide a place for a breastfeeding mother to pump.

But creating lactation rooms in Washington isn’t the only thing being done to create a wider acceptance of breastfeeding. A a bill regarding breastfeeding was unanimously passed by the House, which now makes breastfeeding a civil right. If it becomes law women who feel “discriminated” against regarding breastfeeding will be able to pursue a civil action to prevent future violations and recover damages.