From Brandis

Column: For New Mothers, Rushing Back to Congress is Part of the Job. Should It Be?

An occasional column from Brandis Friedman, the Alexander and John Nichols chief correspondent and anchor for “Chicago Tonight,” on life, parenting and the latest news. 

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Should we stop hauling women who just gave birth back to Washington?

Brandis Friedman (WTTW)

Having a baby can be traumatic. Hear me out, here. I know it’s beautiful and amazing, but let’s be clear, it can also be scary, overwhelming and well, hurts like hell. (Except for this mama who is apparently a pro.)

But, then after that — yes, there’s more — you have to use your own body to keep the little booger alive. Because caring for the little booger — who you will do absolutely anything for — is exhausting both mentally and physically.

It’s also the most important job you will ever have. 

So, why then in those precious but exhausting first few weeks of the “fourth trimester” are women like U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu being dragged before Congress to cast a vote in Pettersen’s case, or to testify at a hearing for hours, as Wu did?

There is a proposed resolution in the House that would make it easier for new moms in the House to vote, but more on that later.

In the case of Michelle Wu — the only woman testifying before the U.S. House Oversight Committee about several cities’ sanctuary status — U.S. Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the committee, announced at one point that the hearing would take a break so Wu could “attend to her young child.” Seems reasonable that the whole hearing would pause for that reason, rather than go on without her.

Wu responded that her husband says the 1-month-old was “OK for now” and the hearing continued.

On one hand, I admire these women for managing their demanding jobs with babes in tow. Motherhood isn’t stopping them from doing the business of the people they represent. Damn the torpedoes!

But, on the other hand, I feel for women who are required to return to work either because they need to keep earning income to support their families and have limited maternity leave, if any. Or, because they recognize that their positions in public service necessitates that they head back to the office to get their jobs done.

Wu is no stranger to being the first. She’s Boston’s first woman and first person of color to hold the office of mayor. And this is her third baby. Old hat.

“The empathy I have for someone like Michelle Wu is you’re just damned if you do, and damned if you don’t,” Jean Sinzdak, associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics, tells me. “It’s just a really complicated and difficult position to be in. It always will be when you’re the one blazing the trail. You will always be subject to unfair scrutiny and extra pressure. And so, I have empathy for that.”

Research from the Center for American Women in Politics shows the number of women serving as mayors of a U.S. city with a population over 30,000 has risen from 11.6% to 26.8% in 2024.

Only 51 women have ever served as governors in just 32 states. The record number of women serving as governor simultaneously is 14 — reached in 2025.

A total of 12,583 people have ever served in Congress. Of them, only 441 have been women. Today, 151 women are serving in Congress.

“A big reason why it hasn’t been addressed is it’s only in very recent years that there have been enough women elected to office, and enough young women who are actually giving birth while serving in office for these issues to come up, and they’re still relatively unusual,” Sinzdak says.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) made history seven years ago when she brought her 10-day-old daughter, Maile, to vote with her on the Senate floor for the first time. And even then, it required a rule change. (Maile still had to wear a jacket in keeping with the Senate dress code.)

“As soon as I got pregnant, I knew it was gonna be an issue,” Duckworth told WTTW News between votes in the Senate. “I started working and negotiating with Republican leadership, and there was an old-school Republican leadership who just absolutely were opposed to it.”

Duckworth says it took other Republicans to support the rule change so that she could vote with her newborn. She says since then, other senators have brought children and grandchildren to the floor.

“I think it’s a good thing,” she said. “I think it’s a good reminder of what America struggles with, what middle middle-class families struggle with all the time with trying to balance work and your family life.”

U.S. Reps. Brittany Pettersen and Anna Paulina Luna, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, tried to make that balance a little easier. 

Luna and Pettersen told The 19th they missed votes because they had to stop traveling in the last few weeks of their pregnancies.

How many other Congressional moms have had to miss votes? Not many, since only about a dozen women have given birth while in Congress over the years. That doesn’t include the new fathers who may have missed votes to be with spouses and newborns. 

Unfortunately, Republican Leadership denied my ability to vote remotely after giving birth to my son, Sam, but that’s not stopping us from showing up to vote NO on this disastrous budget proposal.

They want to rip away health care from 400,000 CO kids, take food off the plates… pic.twitter.com/CcthHFFSNx

— U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (@RepPettersen) February 26, 2025

Leadership said they will not consider at all allowing female members to vote when recovering from child birth. Period. Not now. Not ever. This is wrong.

— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) April 1, 2025

Luna gained the support of nine fellow GOP members who bucked House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass a procedural measure that automatically calls for a vote of House Resolution 164, which would change House rules to allow for “parental proxy voting.”

Johnson was so “disappointed” he cancelled session for the rest of the week, sending lawmakers home.

Luna’s X posts calling for proxy voting had previously gotten a laundry list of replies from folks who argue that they knew what they were signing up for when they ran for office. Or, that parents in the military have missed all sorts of important family moments. Or, that proxy voting leads to more problems.

But, the Speaker and Luna may have managed to crack a deal over the weekend to formalize a “pairing” system. The AP reports the system where a member who is physically present cancels out the vote of someone who is absent has long been used in Congress.

I have questions, but Luna says the voting option would be open to all Republicans who are unable to vote, including new parents and other lawmakers facing medical and family emergencies.

To be clear, the decision of how and when to return to work is 100% their decision. And many of these women, like myself, are in a position of privilege to have any paid leave upon the addition of a new baby. Personally, I gave birth to one son and adopted another, and the time I spent with them in those early days was precious and fleeting.

But, if someone asked me to put on makeup and a dress and comb my hair in those first six weeks post-new baby, I’d kick them outta my house. Honestly, it’s a blur. 

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