Tammy Duckworth Announces She’s Pregnant. It Will Make Her the First Senator to Give Birth in Office

Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth announced her pregnancy on Tuesday, which will make her the first member of Senate to give birth while in office.

The 49-year-old will deliver her second daughter this spring, her office said. Her first daughter, Abigail, is 3 years old.

“Bryan and I are thrilled that our family is getting a little bit bigger, and Abigail is ecstatic to welcome her baby sister home this spring,” Duckworth said in a statement. She thanked the hospitals at Northwestern and George Washington University for helping her and her husband in their “decades-long journey to complete our family.”

Duckworth was elected to the Senate in November of 2016. Only 10 women in U.S. history have given birth while serving in Congress, Duckworth’s office noted, highlighting the way in which it has impacted her policy agenda.

“I’m hardly alone or unique as a working parent, and Abigail has only made me more committed to doing my job and standing up for hardworking families everywhere,” Duckworth said Tuesday.