Comments on: U.S. Military Rules for Breastfeeding Mothers in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy

By: ADAF Momof3

ADAF Momof3 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:38:35 +0000

Stacy,
I am ADAF and had to go TDY when my breastfeeding daughter was 7 months old. I too had a deep freezer full of milk…it looks like way more than is actually needed though. My TDY was 6 weeks so I’m not sure about 3 months. What I did was pump and freeze at my TDY location and then brought 2 suitcases of frozen milk back home with me on the plane. I have to say it was devastating to get home and my daughter not recognize me. She of course wanted nothing to do with breastfeeding either. I continued to pump for an additional 2 months even though she wouldn’t breastfeed. Thankfully she got the benefits of breastmilk until she was 13 months old. Unfortunately for me, and the rest of my family, I have been getting treated for PTSD since I returned from my TDY. It was a short notice tasking and I was not mentally prepared and I had to fight for my right to continue to pump. It was not good, but I survived and I’m now on a mission to change policy. Post-birth assignment deferments need to be at least 12 months.
Good luck with your TDY. I think the more we women talk with one another, the more we realize we are not alone…and there is strength in numbers. We can stand up together and make a difference. And it’s not about getting out of a deployment or duty requirements, it’s about doing the best thing we can for our children and society.
Please post how things went for you and let me know if you want any additional information.

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:02:22 +0000

Erica, you are AMAZING! I think you need to travel post to post and give conferences to other women in the Army. There are women in my husband’s company who have intentionally gotten pregnant to avoid deployment. It’s so refreshing to see a military mom who takes both her job as a mother and her job as a soldier equally seriously.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:17:14 +0000

I suggest visiting kellymom.com…they have A LOT of great advice!

By: Stacy

Stacy — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:13:23 +0000

Please, more info!! I will be going TDY for 3 months when my babe is 7 months old. I have a huge supply already in the deep freeze, and have 5 months to keep building it…but, I will need to pump while I am TDY.

I talked to one lady that said it cost her $140 to ship 110oz This seems like way too expensive…and I am not sure if this is doable for me

On a side note…anyone pump while in formal training??

By: Stacy

Stacy — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:09:18 +0000

You start by breastfeeding yourself…the POSSIBILITY of being separated from your baby is NOT a reason to not breastfeed him/her. You learn the regulations and fight for them…

By: Hoping to Help

Hoping to Help — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:42:16 +0000

Jami,
Totally agree that the policy needs to be changed. Meanwhile, for your own child’s sake (and yours) **Any** breastfeeding is better than none, so hope you will consider breastfeeding for whatever time you are able to do so. It is not ideal to have your choices taken away from you (being deployed, etc.), but the early days/weeks/months of breastfeeding DO provide benefits to your baby and to you, so you can at least take some comfort in knowing you’ve done all you were able/allowed to do for whatever length of time you can do so. All the best, and good luck.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:19:44 +0000

I am active duty army, and today is my first day back from leave. for the past month i have put in for leave and everytime i have been denied. i have been trying to find a regulation on breastfeeding. i went to the IG recently and they said that my commander doesn’t have to approve my leave, even though i am requesting it b/c my 2 yr old and newborn still need me at home and is having difficulties adjusting to not only having a new baby in the home, but having a new home entirely to live in. we are still unpacking and the IG said that there is a regulation that says that if the soldier’s home is close enough, she may go home to feed the baby. i have tried and tried and tried to feed my newborn son a bottle and he fights it so much that he has only eaten about 2 ounces of milk all day. i am very concerned about his well being if he keeps fighting the bottle feedings.

By: lollip

lollip — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:35:59 +0000

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) both recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and then supplemented breastfeeding for up to one year (AAP) or two years or more (WHO). Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life “provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection” that are more common in babies fed formula.
So the military policy only allows breastfeed 6 weeks to 4 months, did the government really recognize anything at all? In the military you are always forced to put career first, family second. After 6 weeks that baby goes straight to the house of drool factory day care, every military mother I have worked with are always taking days off to take care of their sick vomiting babies.
Breastfeeding gives a long list of many longer health term effects and benefits which in turn lowering the cost of health care, there’s a favorable concept the military would typically love to grasp onto, key words let’s see them again, “lowering cost of health care!” That policy should agree more with the recommendation WHO and AAP put out.

By: Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:22:15 +0000

I am so sorry to hear that your unit is not supporting you and your baby and not recognizing the benefits of breastfeeding. You are paving the way for other mothers and hopefully they and their babies will have an easier time due to the education you are giving your unit. Thank you so much for your service to your country!

By: Johnna

Johnna — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 22:01:53 +0000

I am currently in the Army and my unit does not support me breastfeeding. They are trying to send me to the field and will not work with me about pumping while we are in the field. I have also had problems with my child taking a bottle and I got told by an Army doctor that there is no point in breastfeeding my child. My unit gave me problems with doing staff duty because they said that I have to force my child to take a bottle. I have recently been able to get him to take a sippy cup instead but I am still having problems trying to get my chain of command to understand the support that I need but they continue to harrass me.