My baby in the Baby Jogger stroller

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

A military new mother generally receives six weeks of maternity leave starting the day she leaves the hospital. The leave can be extended upon written request along with a physician’s recommendation.

Air Force: The Air Force offers four-month deployment deferrals after the birth of a child. On May 23, 2007, Air Force Instruction 44-102 (PDF document) was modified to state:

4.15. Breastfeeding and Breast Pumping

4.15.1. The importance of breastfeeding during the first year of life to infant nutrition and health and to family emotional support is recognized by numerous private and governmental authorities. The
AFMS recommends that supervisors of AF members who are breastfeeding work with the member to attempt to arrange their work schedules to allow 15-30 minutes every 3-4 hours to pump breastmilk in
a room or an area that provides adequate privacy and cleanliness, if available. Restrooms should not be considered an appropriate location for pumping. The AF member must supply the equipment
needed to pump and store the breast milk.

4.15.2. AF members who are breastfeeding or pumping remain eligible for field training, mobility exercises, and deployment. The Air Force Medical Service encourages commanders’ modifications of
these activities and/or work conditions for airmen who are breastfeeding, when possible. Nonetheless, duty requirements may not always be compatible with exclusive breastfeeding. In these cases, the AF
member must decide in consultation with her medical provider whether to attempt to continue breastfeeding and/or pumping breastmilk. AF 422 is not the mechanism for documentation that an AF member
is breastfeeding.

4.15.3. The obstetrician, pediatrician or PCM shall annotate on an AF Form 422 a recommendation for deployment for those AF members who choose to exclusively breastfeed, i.e. the infant does not
take formula at all.

4.15.4. Breastfeeding/breast pumping AF members may participate in field training and mobility exercises. Decisions to continue to breast pump must be made by the patient, in collaboration with
obstetrician or PCM, supervisors, training instructors and the MDG/CC in regard to having a place to safely express and store breast milk.

In a study of nine women on active duty in the Air Force, several of the women talked about how breastfeeding helped them bond with their babies.

The fact that you’re in the military, hurrah, hurrah, let’s go to war, let’s do this, do that, you’re not a woman, you’re unisex, and once you’ve had the baby, you’re no longer a woman, but back to being unisex. I think the nursing keeps you thinking-I’m a mother, I’m a woman, and I’m taking care of this child. That in itself keeps you sane, you don’t lose your identity.

Army: The deferment from mobility for Army mothers following the birth of a child has been extended to six months as of August 1, 2008. The extension also applies to one parent in dual-military couple who adopt a child. The policy applies to active duty, Guard, and Reserve members. Stars and Stripes reports that for Army mothers stationed in Landstuhl, Germany:

Landstuhl commander Col. Brian Lein signed a policy this summer that encourages a deployment deferment of 12 months for active-duty soldier mothers who are assigned to Landstuhl and its affiliated Army health clinics and breast-feed.

Marine Corps: The Marine Corps allows for 6-month deferments.

Navy: Navy policy provides for 12-month non-deployment period and lactation support in the work environment.

Additional Notes

Of course, policies may be very different from practices. La Leche League offers the following advice for mothers in the military:

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.

Breastfeed for Health notes:

Check with your local military hospital or clinic for classes on breastfeeding and for breastfeeding support through lactation consultants, nurses, physicians, and other providers. If you are not collocated with a military health facility and receive all health services through Tricare, check with your servicing Tricare office for the latest eligibility rules concerning breastfeeding support.

For a comprehensive overview of breastfeeding in the military, see Part I (Information and Resources Provided to Service Women) and Part II (Resource and Policy Considerations) of “Breastfeeding in the Military.” Military Medicine. Oct. 2003.

Sources:

~ Army Extends Deployment Deferments for Mothers of Newborns About.com US Military blog.
~ “New policy gives some nursing mothers in the Army a 12 month deployment deferral.” Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog.
~ “New Landstuhl policy encourages deferred deployment of 12 months for nursing mothers.” Stars and Stripes.
~ Rebecca M. Welton, Capt, USAF.
~ Part I (Information and Resources Provided to Service Women) and Part II (Resource and Policy Considerations) of “Breastfeeding in the Military.” Military Medicine. Oct. 2003

Leave a Comment

Any military moms out there? Let us know your experience. Thank you for your service to your country! Again, please let me know if you are aware of any changes to military regulations or policies on breastfeeding and I will update this post.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

8-13.5-104. Right of nursing mothers to express breast milk in workplace – private location – discrimination prohibited.

(1) An employer shall provide reasonable unpaid break time or permit an employee to use paid break time, meal time, or both, each day to allow the employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for up to two years after the child’s birth.

(2) The employer shall make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other location in close proximity to the work area, other than a toilet stall, where an employee can express breast milk in privacy.

(3) An employer that makes reasonable efforts to accommodate an employee who chooses to express breast milk in the workplace shall be deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.

(4) The Department of Labor and Employment shall provide, on its website, information and links to other web sites where employers can access information regarding methods to accommodate nursing mothers in the workplace. The Department shall consult with appropriate organizations or associations to determine the appropriate information and web site links to provide on the Department’s web site so as to provide employers with the most accurate and useful information available.

(5) Before an employee may seek litigation for a violation of this section, there shall be nonbinding mediation between the employer and the employee.

Read the full text of the law, including definitions and a legislative declaration on the benefits of breastfeeding and definitions, here. A separate Colorado law already provides that “A mother may breastfeed in any place she has a right to be.”

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

The Telegraph quotes study leader Alison Steube:

“Pregnancy is associated with a number of things that you normally wouldn’t want to happen to your body including storing more fat and having higher than normal levels of fatty acids circulating in the blood. By breastfeeding, mothers can convert those energy reserves into nutrition for their infants.

Breastfeeding isn’t just good for babies, it’s good for mothers, too.”

Of course I think this is great news, although I realize women are not going to base their decision whether or not to breastfeed on the fact that it reduces heart attack risk. It’s just a nice little reward for those who do decide to breastfeed.

What scares the heck out of me is that like the nurses in the study, I gave birth in 2002. I’m among a group of women who are having heart attacks?! Thank goodness I’ve been breastfeeding for a total of almost five years! Thank goodness I exercise and eat well!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

A public hearing on the measure is tentatively scheduled for February 7th, 2007 before the House Human Services and Women’s Wellness Committee. It’s vital that working and pumping mothers in Oregon appear to testify about their experiences pumping at work. Testimony describing both good and bad experiences and the value of supporting breastfeeding mothers will help counter any resistance from the business community. The Committee needs to hear that breastfed babies get sick less often and less severely and that businesses who support breastfeeding mothers will benefit from reduced absenteeism from working mothers caring for sick children.

If you want to testify, contact Chris through the link to the Reluctant Lactivist blog above. Even if you cannot testify, you can support the legislation by sending an email using this form.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

I got my chance the other night at the gym (see, I’ve been keeping my own New Year’s resolution to get more exercise). I saw a mother seated in a leather chair outside the gym day care. As her infant boy nursed he played with a silk scarf — I suspect as a way to distract him from anything else going on around him and to get him to focus on nursing. Smart mama to use a trick like that to make nursing in public easier!

As I smiled at her she looked back at me a little sheepishly, which gave me all the incentive I needed to blurt out, “It’s so nice to see someone else doing that here!”

At first she was a little taken aback that I’d spoken to her. I think she was afraid I was going to chastise her or something! She smiled with relief and laughed her agreement. “I know!” she said, and she settled back comfortably in her chair. Mission accomplished.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Pros: Sturdy board book. Actual color photographs as opposed to illustrations.

Cons: Strained rhymes. Grainy picture quality.

I do not relish criticizing any book much less a children’s book about nursing, but I simply cannot give this book my unreserved endorsement. The concept has such great potential but the result is disappointing. I’m Made of Mama’s Milk by Mary Olsen contains over 20 photographs of a nursling who appears to be approximately one year old (now that my own nursling is two it’s hard for me to judge a baby’s age!) The darling little girl is shown nursing in her mama’s arms, in a sling, in a bed, in the bath and at the park. The pictures are not overly modest nor unnecessarily graphic (more conservative readers might object to one or two photos). It is nice to see the father/husband included in three of the pictures as well. The problem lies in the poor quality of the photographs. They’re annoyingly blurred and fuzzy but not in a “romantic” way. They look like poor quality still shots taken from a video.

Furthermore, while I appreciate the attempted rhythm and lilt of the words, some of the rhymes felt a bit strained:

I like to drink while warm in the bath,
Or while being carried down a park nature path.

I must admit that the book immediately drew the attention of my two-year-old and she loved the pictures of a nursling much like herself (and the fuzzy “mirror” on the last page). I fear that adults, though, are going to be put off by the poor photo quality. If I’m Made of Mama’s Milk featured better quality pictures, I would have given the book a rating of at least 4.5.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

“What a fun website! I was surfing for info for my daughter on caring for a toddler while nursing a baby, and ran across your site. Ah, memories of nursing back in the dark ages of the ’60s came back. My first son had a lot of colic, which we dealt with poorly, but as a consequence, he nursed right through my second pregnancy, more for comfort than for nourishment. He was 15 months old when the baby was born, and he was thrilled when the milk came in. I nursed them both until the oldest was three, when I just felt that was enough (plus my mother-in-law and others were horrified, and I just caved, I guess). He was none too happy, and I would sneak around nursing #2 (at night, etc), but that didn’t last long. When the boys were 2 1/2 and 3 1/2, along came #3. Since I was pretty stressed out caring for three children and my milk seemed to be causing colic, she was weaned at 6 months. Sixteen months later came baby #4, a second girl, who repeated the pattern. Baby #5 came yet 16 months later, and one month after his birth, we were in the middle of the great stress and confusion of moving to a different job and state. I just threw up my hands and weaned him at 6 weeks. Two years later, after two more moves, #6 came along. Being older and wiser, I nursed her for two years. She self-weaned as the milk dried up, because we were expecting our last, a fourth daughter (born in 1978) who nursed for three years, when I decided that was long enough (she wanted to continue). So, I’ve run the gamut of nursing times, and from this vantage point, I would advise mothers to relax and do what they feel is best. For some reason, my milk many times led to runny diapers and I finally landed on baby carrots to counteract this with #7. Immediately, the diapers were firmer. She was only a few weeks old when I tried this, and I wish I had figured it out with #1. So, that’s my nursing story, for better and worse.”

To read other breastfeeding stories, click here. To share your story with me, click here.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

[Edited to remove inactive poll. See the poll results here.]

To see the results from the last poll about how often you exercise each week, click here.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3