Breastfeeding athletes can now bring their babies to next month’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
There was huge uproar when Canadian athlete Kimberley Gaucher was forced to choose between attending the sporting event and being a breastfeeding mother.
She took to Instagram to raise awareness about just how unfair it was for mums in the sporting industry. There should be an exception and thanks to her, there is!
No friends or family were allowed attend the games due to the pandemic, but they have now changed the rules for breastfeeding mums.
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Kimberley celebrated the news this morning by posting a sweet video with her daughter Sophie.
“Woke up to some big news this morning. Sophie can come to Tokyo!”
The mum said she is so relieved she no longer has to make such a difficult decision.
“We are super thankful and super pumped to be able to continue nursing Sophie at Toyko.”
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Fellow athletes welcomed the news with open arms this morning, including soccer player Alex Morgan and long distance runner Aliphine Chepkerker Tuliamuk.
Speaking about the heartache of having to leave her daughter Zoe behind, Aliphine Chepkerker Tuliamuk said:
“My throat is lumpy. I know that everything I do is a teaching moment for her, I want her to know that even in the face of challenges that she can still follow her passion and prevail, now I need to tell this to myself, that even in the face of challenges like leaving my now 5month old breastfeeding daughter behind for 10 days to race at the Olympics, I can prevail and show her how to be strong.”
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There’s no doubt that these new measures are going to make the world of the difference for these mums.
Kimberley Gaucher called for change and she got the answer she hoped for!
“It’s 2021, let’s make working moms normal.”
