Meet Tammy Duckworth – first US senator to have baby in office

WASHINGTON – Tammy Duckworth has become the first sitting female US senator to give birth while in office.

The 50-year-old Illinois Democrat said on Twitter that her daughter, Maile Pearl Bowlsbey, was named after her husband’s great aunt, who served as a nurse during World War Two.

In a series of tweets, she also thanked her family and medical team.

Duckworth is a former helicopter pilot who had both her legs amputated after crashing in Iraq in 2004.

The Iraq War veteran had previously made history when she became the first woman with disabilities elected to the US senate.

Baby Maile – the couple’s second daughter – was born in a suburban Washington DC hospital on Monday.

“Parenthood isn’t just a women’s issue, it’s an economic issue and one that affects all parents – men and women alike,” she said in a statement.

“As tough as juggling the demands of motherhood and being a Senator can be, I’m hardly alone or unique as a working parent, and my children only make me more committed to doing my job and standing up for hardworking families everywhere,” she continued.

Duckworth’s first child, Abigail, was born when she was serving in the US House of Representatives.

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