Military Birth Talk

Alice is a Navy Spouse who is originally from the UK, where she worked as a licensed midwife. She joins Military Birth Talk today to share the story of her pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience with her first daughter. She had originally planned for a low intervention birth center birth, and ended up transferring to the hospital when her labor stalled. Though though things didn't go to plan, she remembers her birth positively, which she attributes to the fact that she was able to stay in control of her decisions during the experience. 

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In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Captain Jessica Cooper, who is a medical service officer serving in the Army. During Jessica’s pregnancy she saw midwives through the community hospital on Fort Campbell, and she had a really positive experience there. She ended up being induced when her baby started having heart decelerations during a 40 week check up, and even though it was a very long, 46-hour induction, she was still able to give birth vaginally. Due to some tearing, Jessica had a longer than average recovery, and she also started a Captain’s career course shortly after giving birth, so the postpartum period was a little hectic. We talk about all that and more!

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In today’s episode, Space Force spouse Genesis shares her pregnancy and birth story with her son. During her pregnancy, she opted to do genetic testing, which revealed that her son was at risk of being diagnosed with a chromosome abnormality. It was a bumpy road to understand the results and get more information, and the experience made it really hard for Genesis to enjoy the pregnancy. Thankfully, her baby boy was born healthy. The birth itself was a long induction which ending in a c-section, and took place at a hospital out in town. 

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In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Amber who was active duty in the air force for 4 years, before getting out  after the birth of her second child. She had a very challenging first pregnancy with her son, which included a lot of mental health challenges which were really hard to navigate on top of being active duty and living far away from family. The birth didn’t go as planned and ended up in a csection, so it was a challenging period in Amber’s life. Her second birth, also a csection, went much more smoothly, but shortly after retunring from maternity leave Amber was assigned unaccompanied orders overseas, and she ultimately decided to separate as a result. 

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In today's episode, we're joined by Dr. John Richard who served 24 years as an OB in the Navy. During our conversation he shares his perspective on a whole range of issues including military medicine as a whole, staffing issues, how rank impacts pregnancy care for service members, and he also answered some follower questions. Please be aware that our conversation includes a discussion about abortion and what military providers can and cannot do for their patients.

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In today’s episode, I’m talking with Air Force Spouse Courtney. Courtney shares her two c-section birth stories, which both took place at the same military treatment facility in Florida. Courtney’s husband deployed shortly after both births, but she had great support from visiting family, and her husband’s squadron who brought over lots of delicious meals. Especially during her second postpartum period she relied heavily on the free resources for parents provided by the Air Force, and overall felt that the transition to parenthood was as a military spouse was pretty smooth.

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In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Myer & Tiana Krah who were both Active Duty in the Navy, and are both now retired. They have four little boys, including a set of twins, so we hear about Tiana’s C-section, then her VBAC, and then the birth of her twins which was also a military hospital VBAC. They talk about navigating deployments, overseas orders, their family care plan, career sacrifices, childcare, and breastfeeding, and then we also talk about fatherhood while on Active Duty and whether or not being a great father is truly celebrated in the Navy.

Find Myer at @here4thedads on instragram

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In today’s episode, we’re hearing from Navy Spouse Sarah, who tells the story of her third pregnancy and birth. When Sarah was 28 weeks pregnant, she was in the car with her other two kids when she had an eclamptic seizure. Her husband, a submarine officer in the Navy, was underway at the time and rushed back after receiving an American Red Cross message. Sarah gave birth to their daughter via c-section, and then navigated a stay in the NICU for 178 days before their daughter was discharged home to her family. 

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In the first episode of Season 4 of Military Birth Talk, Lieutenant Jacqueline McCrory shares her journey through pregnancies and births as an active duty Navy pilot. Jackie recounts meeting her husband at the Naval Academy, their careers as pilots, and managing dual military duties while starting a family. She discusses the challenges of multiple miscarriages during an operational tour, the shift to more holistic methods to improve fertility, and her eventual successful pregnancy. Jackie reflects on switching from an OB to a midwife and choosing a home birth, as well as the differences in care between the two models. Her story touches on navigating pregnancy loss, the importance of having supportive commands, and advocating for one's birth choices within the military. 

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In this episode of Military Birth Talk, we're speaking with LCDR Anne Laird, who was active duty in the navy for 12 years and now serves in the reserves as a midwife. Annie shares her extensive experiences both as a military midwife and as a mother of five, who has had pretty much every type of birth you could think of from a hospital birth with an epidural, a home birth to hospital transfer, two more homebirths, and then a hospital induction turned c-section. We also chat about how her military experience has informed her midwifery practice, the unique role that midwifery care plays in the military healthcare system, and the improvements she’d like to see continue over the coming years for birthing families in the military.

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