diff --git a/src/xml/repr-io.cpp b/src/xml/repr-io.cpp
index f6552a5f9853b04e392ddcb48259e6a746b58b2c..99bf360d8c1fb7264357963474aab9b3942d3775 100644
--- a/src/xml/repr-io.cpp
+++ b/src/xml/repr-io.cpp
@@ -558,7 +558,10 @@ static Node *sp_repr_svg_read_node (Document *xml_doc, xmlNodePtr node, const gc
         // Since libxml2 2.9.0, only element nodes are checked, thus check parent.
         // Note: this only handles XML's rules for white space. SVG's specific rules
         // are handled in sp-string.cpp.
-        bool preserve = (xmlNodeGetSpacePreserve (node->parent) == 1);
+        bool preserve = (xmlNodeGetSpacePreserve (node->parent) == 1)
+                && (strcmp(reinterpret_cast<const gchar *>(node->parent->name),"flowPara") == 0)
+                && (strcmp(reinterpret_cast<const gchar *>(node->parent->name),"flowSpan") == 0)
+                && (strcmp(reinterpret_cast<const gchar *>(node->parent->name),"flowDiv") == 0);
 
         xmlChar *p;
         for (p = node->content; *p && g_ascii_isspace (*p) && !preserve; p++)