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Serving Those Who Serve Us
Alexis Hooper
Waldorff MD USA
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 40 No. 5, October-November 2004, pp. 110-11.
Working with mothers in the
military can be a unique opportunity for La Leche League Leaders. These
mothers have to overcome many obstacles to win the right to breastfeed
their children. The military is—and will continue to be—a
male-dominated society; however, women in the military still want to
have a family as much as civilian women. While many military units are
progressive and include a place to pump and even provide breast pumps,
some have never been faced with the challenge of accommodating a breastfeeding
service member. It may seem embarrassing and overwhelming for the new
mother and her supervisors.
Before her baby is born,
it is important for a military mother to tell her supervisors that she
intends to breastfeed. Sharing this information will prevent commanders
from being caught off guard, scrambling to fit pumping into the often
hectic military workday. The military mothers who understand and are
educated about breastfeeding, and "who discuss their concerns with
their chains of command, usually have the best success in getting the
support that is needed in the workplace," explains Lara Mulvaney,
a Leader with an LLL Group in Stuttgart, Germany, which serves the needs
of military wives, along with active duty soldiers.
In the United States military,
the active duty military mother must return to work six weeks after
her baby’s birth. Unless she uses her personal vacation, she cannot
change this situation except with a doctor’s order. Furthermore,
she may not be deployed overseas within six months of birth. Yet, if
she is not aware of this regulation, she could be sent away sooner.
She can appeal for her entitlement to stay with her baby for six months
or she may be able to work with her supervisors to extend the length
of her maternity leave. (Members of the Reserve who are called to active
duty have the same rights as those currently on active duty.) When assisting
a military mother, remind her of her right to appeal. In the military,
a commander of higher status is always available to whom a soldier can
make a complaint.
"Israel is a little
different," explains Brandel Falk, an LLL Leader in Jerusalem,
Israel, "as virtually every adult man is in the army." Both
men and women serve full-time at age 18 unless they get a deferment.
Women must serve for two years while men serve for three. Men then serve
about a month per year until they are released permanently. Women are
usually released from military responsibility when they get married
or pregnant. There’s also a permanent army in which men and women
sign up to serve on an ongoing basis. These women can continue to serve
after marriage and pregnancy. They receive a pregnancy leave, but then
must return to duty.
"The biggest challenge
that many military mothers face with breastfeeding," offers Lara
Mulvaney, "is probably the fact that many do not have private offices
or lounges that they can use to pump." Many higher ranking officers
do have their own private areas, and have more control over their own
schedules, she says, which enables them to express milk to feed their
babies. "Many have to find creative solutions, such as pumping
in a car, having the babysitter bring the baby at lunchtime, pumping
under a poncho in the field, and many others! I have heard many funny
stories," she says.
Leaders can offer the military
mother suggestions for working with commanders to find a suitable time
and place for pumping and storing her milk. Most units have a refrigerator
full of sodas and snacks where she could store her milk. Service members
are given breaks for smoking, eating, and religious practices, so there
is no reason why she should not receive the same amount of time to provide
milk for her baby. Perhaps she could study military manuals pertaining
to her job while pumping; commanders appreciate service members who
try to improve their skills. Give her information that shows that breastfed
babies are sick less often, which means she’ll be at work more.
Also suggest she show the effects that sudden weaning can have on both
her body and on the health of her baby. Perhaps she can even find a
doctor within the military medical system who will provide a health
reason why she must nurse. In light of recent military involvements,
many mothers are being sent away from their families with little warning.
If they cannot delay their deployment, they will need to find ways to
make the weaning process and impending separation as easy as possible.
"My experience working
with active duty mothers is to cry with them and help them wean as gradually
as possible when they are deployed," shares Carroll Beckham, a
Leader with LLL of Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA, which serves many
military wives and soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg. She continues:
I remember one mother
who came to our Group for over a year and was still breastfeeding
her toddler when she was sent to Korea, unaccompanied, for a year.
She took it much better than I did and nursed up until the last minute.
Some branches of the US military
allow women to leave the service early for pregnancy or family hardship.
She may not be willing to take this option, but maybe she is willing
to try to change her job or duties to allow more time with her family.
Of course, she may not be able to leave her job, but she may be able
to work different hours or work in an administrative position that will
keep her close to her baby.
The Military Spouse
It’s said that the wife
has the hardest job in the military. Never assume that the military
spouse has anyone at home for support. She is often thousands of miles
from her nearest relative, may not know anyone in her community, and
may not have seen her husband since their baby’s conception. A
new mother’s lack of support and feelings of isolation can be very
stressful, especially when everything seems to be going wrong all at
once. Just as a Leader would help a civilian breastfeeding mother, so
would she want to listen to the military wife’s challenges and
remember she may be the first adult the mother has talked to in a while.
It’s also a good idea to become familiar with area support groups,
play groups, and other activities that she might enjoy. Most military
bases are family-oriented and provide well for families of the deployed.
"I think it really comes
down to the same listening skills and emotional support we provide to
[all] mothers, but military mothers may need us even more," says
Amy Waldrop, a military spouse of a retired Coast Guard who now lives
in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, USA. The closest family she had when
her babies were born was five hours away. "Luckily for me,"
she says, "my mother was an LLL Leader when I was a child and I
was able to get her on the phone when I couldn’t reach the local
Leader." LLL became a really big part of her life because of the
emotional support the Leaders gave her. Since military families have
to move every few years, she adds, it is sometimes difficult to make
new friends.
As one of the co-Leaders
of the Fort Bragg/Pope AFB (Air Force Base) LLL Group, Deidre Owens
of Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA, says, "It has been a pleasure
to assist breastfeeding military spouses." The Group currently
has one military reservist, notes Deidre, who has a husband deployed
in Iraq and has to deal with separation from her infant during drill
weekends.
"One of the most important
contributions we offer at Fort Bragg," continues Deidre, "is
being a support person when husbands are deployed. Many times when a
military wife calls a Leader or approaches her after a Series Meeting,
it is for encouragement and comfort, not necessarily for breastfeeding
management questions."
Amy Waldrop says she really
didn’t need any breastfeeding help, nor did she have any specific
questions or concerns about breastfeeding, "but it was nice to
know someone was there to listen if I needed [her]."
The military mother would
experience the same feeling of loneliness and isolation as a spouse
would, Amy added, but there are other things to consider. A military
mother may be facing deployment and leaving her child(ren). While we
would all like to think exemptions are always granted, the reality is
that service comes first. There is a saying, "Your family is not
issued with your sea bag," and as family-friendly as the military
would like to be, it is the mother’s commitment above all else
to serve. Once she signs the contract, she knows what is expected of
her.
Military Health Care
The US military offers only
a limited choice of health care providers and lactation consultants.
In some cases, women cannot use non-military provided health care without
paying out of pocket. Further, she may see a different health care professional
every time she needs medical help, creating confusion among the care
providers. Unfortunately, mother and baby are not treated together most
of the time. Often, they are seen by different doctors, which can also
add to the confusion. The baby’s doctor may be willing to treat
him for thrush, but the mother’s doctor does not believe it is
necessary to treat her as well. When you ask about what the doctor has
said, be prepared for long, possibly contradicting, details. Most bases
with major hospitals employ one or more lactation consultants. They
often provide breastfeeding classes, warm lines for telephone help,
and clinical consultation in conjunction with obstetricians/gynecologists
or pediatric practices. One lactation consultant may serve the needs
of 40 babies born in one day. Obviously she has her hands full, and
some women may slip through the cracks. Some mothers may not even know
they have access to a lactation consultant.
If you know you will be working
with military mothers, get the telephone number of the military lactation
consultant so you can provide it if necessary. Many medical units provide
home visits by nurses or lactation consultants to make sure everything
is going smoothly, and they refer their patients to us all the time.
In fact, they may be our best promoters in the military!
"I became an LLL Leader
and requested the Fort Bragg Group because of the frequent deployments
and the high transient nature of the military community," reveals
Deidre Owens. "It is important to offer some form of support to
pregnant or new mothers."
The military mother may never
contact La Leche League again, but she might move to a new place and
share how much a La Leche League Leader helped her, making her a great
resource for promoting breastfeeding.
Alexis Hooper has been
an LLL Leader for nine months and is currently in the Army Reserves
after serving four years on active duty as an Arabic Speaking Interrogator
and Persian Gulf Specialist. She has worked for several US and foreign
government agencies, surrounded by breastfeeding mothers. She currently
lives with her husband, a retired Marine, whom she met while stationed
in the Middle East. They have a two-year-old son, Gunner, and are expecting
another baby in December 2004.
Editor’s Note:
La Leche League International is an educational, nonsectarian, nongovernmental
organization with a worldwide and diverse community whose single focus
is to help mothers breastfeed. This article is not intended as social
or political commentary outside of the focus of LLL.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:32:07 UTC 2007.
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