Military Birth Talk

In today’s episode we’ll be hearing from Bayilee, who is Active Duty in the Navy. Bayilee shares the pregnancy and birth story of her daughter, which was a military hospital birth overseas in Yokosuka. Bayilee also went through a divorce around the time of her pregnancy, so she talks about how this impacted her experience, and about navigating single parenthood while overseas on active duty,  how unit culture affected her, and some of the unique aspects of managing pregnancy while aboard ship. Here’s my conversation with Bayilee.

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Facebook: Military Birth Resource Network & Postpartum Coalition

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In today’s episode we’ll be hearing from Tiffany, a retired combat systems officer and flight instructor in the Air Force. Tiffany was Active Duty during her first pregnancy and birth (3:05), which ended up being a c-section for breech, with her care provided by the MTF.  For her second (17:02), she had transitioned to the Air National Guard and planned for a home birth VBAC but ended up transferring to the hospital due to bleeding during labor, and gave birth via c-section. She describes the various elements that made these two pregnancy, birth, and postpartum periods so different, including  the different kind of support she received from her commanders and units, how being pregnant and then nursing impacted her flying status , how she helped bring a Mamava lactation pod to her flight line, and how all of this impacted her career overall. Here’s my conversation with Tiffany. 

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Today's episode is a provider interview with Michelle, an Army spouse, who is a doula working under Tricare’s Childbirth and Breastfeeding Support Demonstration, and a student midwife. During our conversation she talks about becoming a doula while she and her family were stationed in Germany, and what the experience of supporting overseas families was like. She then talks about her return to the states and her transition into midwifery care. She shares some of the key things her training has focused on so far and highlights some of the ways she feels midwifery care, and especially home birth care, is differentiated from prenatal care in more medicalized settings. We also talk about some of the things that birth workers can do to support their own mental health while they’re supporting others who may be experiencing trauma, and she talks about how different her experience was not having a community of birth workers around her overseas, as compared to the community that now supports her in Georgia. 

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In today’s episode, we’ll be hearing from Rebecca who was Active Duty in the Air Force when she gave birth to her two sons. Her first was born at a military treatment facility  via cesarean after 2 days of labor (3:16). During her second pregnancy (11:34) Rebecca and her husband learned that their child had Down Syndrome, and she discusses the experience of navigating her and her child’s healthcare through the diagnosis, while also executing PCS orders. She discusses the choices they had around birth location due to his diagnosis, the support that was and was not available to them after the birth, and the way that being a dual-military family impacted the choices they made for his care. Rebecca now works as Associate Director for the nonprofit Exceptional Families of the Military, and she sheds light on some important nuances of the EFMP program that so many families in the military depend on for services. Here’s my conversation with Rebecca.
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Exceptional Families of the Military (EFM)  is a volunteer-led, 501c(3) non-profit organization specializing in helping DoD families enrolled in DoD's Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP). We are EFMP families ourselves and have multiple online support groups with about 11,000 EFMP family members DoD-wide.    We provide direct support, support groups, and also work on legislative and policy priorities on behalf of our families. We are part of the Tricare for Kids Coalition and the EFMP coalition, the largest group representing EFMP families. 

Website: http://www.ExceptionalMilitaryFam.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExceptionalFamiliesMilitary
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/exceptional-families-of-the-military
Instagram: @EFMVoice
Twitter: @EFMVoice
Youtube: EFMVoices
Press Kit: EFM Press Room

Other Resources:
Tricare Prime Travel: https://tricare.mil/primetravel
DSDN Military Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2207125775996497
Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network: https://www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org/

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Facebook: Military Birth Resource Network & Postpartum Coalition

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In today’s episode we’ll be hearing from Nicole, who was on Active Duty in the Army the she had her son. Nicole shares one birth story, which took place in the military hospital in Okinawa Japan. She also dives into her experience of being pregnant and giving birth as a single parent, and the resources she sought out and relied upon after birth to make sure that she had the support she needed, including care from a doula and a postpartum PT group provided through the Army. During our conversation Nicole touches on a previous abortion and how that experience influenced the choices she made during her pregnancy with her son, and she also discusses some healthcare issues that are common for women of color during pregnancy. 

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In today's episode, we'll be hearing from Featherone (they/them), a retired Military Police Officer, who will be sharing two birth stories. The first birth (3:55) took place in a hospital setting, and while it was an "easy pregnancy," the birth and postpartum experiences were much more difficult, due in part to the lack of support from their unit, and concurrently becoming a single parent. Featherstone's second pregnancy unfortunately ended in a loss (26:06). Their next birth (27:17)  took place at home, under the care of a midwife, an experience they describe as "magical." Featherstone also shares about the unique demands of being an Active Duty single parent, how postpartum depression and anxiety manifested for them and impacted their career, and how they made the transition from serving in the Army to becoming a perinatal mental health specialist. 

🫶 This episode is supported by Oceanside HypnoBirthing and Doula Services, providing doula support, HypnoBirthing classes and CAPPA Labor Doula Trainings to families at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, surrounding areas and beyond. Oceanside HypnoBirthing and Doula Services can provide care under the TRICARE Childbirth and Breastfeeding Support Demonstration. To learn more, please visit www.oceansidehypnobirthing.com, or find @oceansidehypnobirthing on Instagram and Facebook.

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In today’s episode, we’ll be hearing from Melissa, a Labor and Delivery nurse who is Active Duty with the navy. As she and her husband were preparing for an overseas PCS, Melissa’s water broke at only 19 weeks pregnant, leading to a 6-week hospital stay, and many heart wrenching conversations about viability and the chances that they would be able to bring home a healthy baby. After 42 days in the hospital, Melissa gave birth to her daughter at 25 weeks via classical c-section. Her daughter spent 5 and a half months in the NICU fighting for her life before she was finally cleared to go home. Melissa shares about what this experience was like, how her and her daughter's care was handled, navigating the competing identities of parent and service member, and the realities of raising a medically complex child while having to go back to work.

This episode contains conversation about pregnancy and infant loss, so please take care when listening.

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Facebook: Military Birth Resource Network & Postpartum Coalition

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In today's episode we'll be hearing from Army reservist Tiffany. Tiffany begins (2:56) by discussing her experience with (and subsequent diagnosis of) vaginismus, a painful condition that impacted the way she and her husband tried to conceive. She talks about the traumatic experiences she had during the course of her diagnosis and how that led to her eventual mistrust and discomfort with hospital-based providers. She then shares her first pregnancy and birth story (10:30), which took place at a civilian hospital, and her second pregnancy and birth story (23:10), which was a home water birth. During our conversation she also talks about her varied experiences with two different pelvic floor therapists, her frustration around continuity of care as she switched from Select to Prime, navigating Tricare coverage of her home birth, and the importance of rest postpartum.

Resources shared:
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
The Birth Hour Podcast
Evidence Based Birth Podcast and Website
Bridget Teyler's YouTube channel

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Facebook: Military Birth Resource Network & Postpartum Coalition

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Today's episode of Military Birth Talk features Marine Corps spouse, Natalie. Natalie shares the challenges she and her husband faced with getting pregnant while stationed overseas (3:06), followed by the birth stories of her two children (8:07), one of whom was born at their OCONUS duty station on base and one of whom was born stateside at a civilian hospital. She also shares about her experience with postpartum depression following her first child's birth and working with an MFLAC on base. Natalie also provides insight on her experience birthing as a woman of color, and shares about some of the discrepancies in treatment that she experienced.

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Facebook: Military Birth Resource Network & Postpartum Coalition

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Today's episode of Military Birth Talk features Army Spouse Zarema. Zarema shares her first pregnancy and birth story (2:21), which was a hospital delivery ending with a traumatic manual removal of the placenta, requiring emergency surgery. She then shares her second birth story (11:22), which took place in a birth center and which she describes as "no drama, no trauma." She then shares her third birth story (27:30), which took place at home, after deciding to pay out of pocket for a home birth and receiving dual care from a homebirth midwife and the MTF. She also discusses how and why she became a doula, her experience working with military family clients, and the unique challenges they face.

Follow along with Military Birth Talk:
Instagram: @militarybirthtalk
Facebook: Military Birth Resource Network & Postpartum Coalition

Submit your birth story!
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