YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS. In a rare move, the Senate on Wednesday night voted to change longstanding rules to allow newborns -- for the first time -- onto the Senate floor during votes, CNN reports.

The rule change, voted through by unanimous consent, was done to accommodate senators with newborn babies, allowing them now to be able to bring a child under 1 year old onto the Senate floor and breastfeed them during votes.

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who gave birth this month to her second child, becoming the first US Senator to do so while in office, spearheaded the push for the rule change and applauded her fellow lawmakers who she says helped to "bring the Senate into the 21st Century by recognizing that sometimes new parents also have responsibilities at work."

"By ensuring that no Senator will be prevented from performing their constitutional responsibilities simply because they have a young child, the Senate is leading by example and sending the important message that working parents everywhere deserve family-friendly workplace policies," Duckworth said in a statement after the vote.

The change was not done without some concern from some senators.

Congressional aides tell CNN that there were many real questions from senators, expressing concern about the impact of opening the floor up to newborns. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said that the questions from other senators varied, from asking whether diapers will be changed on the Senate floor to questions if there should be a dress code for the baby on the floor.

English –translator/editor: Stepan Kocharyan