Military Birth Talk

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...

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,...

In this episode of Military Birth Talk, EmilieAn shares her experiences as a military spouse, mother, and doula. Her first child was born the day after 9/11. After that birth, she suffered 11 miscarriages, 9 of which she managed at home and 2 of which required D&Cs while her family was PCSing. She then went on to have two more babies. She’s now been a doula for 15 years, and talks about some o...

In this episode of Military Birth Talk, Michelle shares her experiences with gestational trophoblastic disease, a rare form of cancer which was discovered following the miscarriage of her first pregnancy, and required multiple DNCs and chemotherapy. Following her diagnosis, Michelle went on to have two children, and then had a hysterectomy after her second child’s birth. She highlights the support...

Today's guest Molly shares her experiences as a new military spouse and mother. Molly discusses the challenges and positives of her husband's Air Force duty station at Scott Air Force Base, her pregnancy and birth journey with an off-base OB in Missouri, and coping with the distance from family. She talks about leveraging a doula for support, the highs and lows of her labor and delivery,...

Brawnlyn is Active Duty serving in the Air Force. Prior to the birth of her daughter, Brawnlyn and her husband battled infertility, an experience which led her to begin working with the Air Force’s Women's Initiatives Team to improve infertility care and options for service members. When she got pregnant with her daughter, despite having a hospital 6 minutes down the street from her, she was...

Colonel Melissa Dombrock has served in the Air Force for almost 20 years, and is currently stationed overseas in Germany. Melissa shares her two birth stories, the first of which happened in the Army hospital and then the second was an accidental unassisted homebirth. We talk about her experience over time as an aviator rising through the ranks and eventually becoming a squadron commander, layered...

In today's episode we hear from MBRNPC Board Member Samantha C. Arrington Sliney, Esq, who transitioned off of Active Duty after 10 years of service and now serves in the Air National Guard. Samantha's legislative advocacy work was born through the Air Force's Women's Initiatives Team where she currently serves as Co-Chair. Samantha provides several key updates on where things...

In this episode, I’m speaking with Klarissa who’s Active Duty in the Air Force and shares the birth of her son who was born in the UK this past summer. Klarissa’s prenatal care was offered in groups, which she really enjoyed. She ended up having an emergency C-section, and then she also experienced a postpartum hemmorage and had to have a blood transfusion. She also shares a few other perspectives...

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Dr. Kristal Lau who is an Army spouse sharing two birth stories. Kristal’s first birth story took place in Alabama and her second was born OCONUS in Wiesbaden Germany. So two totally different settings and it was really interesting to hear the differences in some of the culture norms between the two, and then we also talked about how her postpartum experiences...

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Jazmon, who serves in the Air Force, as does her husband. She mostly focuses on her first birth story which took place while her family was stationed at Cannon Air Force base, which was located two hours from the closest hopsital with OB care. So Jazmon shares how that incredibly long commute impacted her pregnancy experience and then also talks about being in...

In today’s episode I’m joined by Satin, who is an Army spouse, and she’ll be sharing the birth story of her son who was born at a hospital out in town in Oklahoma. Satin shares about the birth itself but also talks a lot about the lack of family support during her pregnancy, due to being stationed far away from community, and how that impacted her. She also talks about her very negative experience...

Today I’m speaking with Kara who shares her two birth stories as a Navy Spouse. Her first birth was a hospital birth and her second was a home birth. She talks about the way her lived experience as a military spouse impacted her pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, including how moving multiple times affected her options and her access to support postpartum, and she shares a little bit about her spou...

Marianna served  10 years in the air national guard and shares her two birth stories. When describing her first birth, she says that "everything that could have gone wrong did," and despite the birth taking place at the hospital where she was serving as a nurse, it ended up being a pretty traumatic experience for both her and her husband. Her next birth experience was night and day from...

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Zatha who was Active Duty in the Marine Corps for her first birth, and then got out before her second birth. Even though she was Active Duty her first birth took place at a birth center due to low staffing at the military hospital where they were stationed, and then her second birth was a free birth at their home in Italy, where her husband is stationed with t...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Amber who's had four children while on Active Duty in a dual-military family. She talks about the differences between her first and her most recent births, how unit culture plays a key role in balancing work and family, and how she and her spouse make it all happen! Tune in wherever you get your podcasts. Follow along with Military Birth Talk: Instagram: @mil...

Today we're hearing from Captain Emily Foreman, and Active Duty Airman, who shares her pregnancy and postpartum story as an ICBM missile launch officer. Emily shares some unique perspectives about pregnancy in her specific field, managing postpartum while frequently being "deployed in place," and how to ask for help when you need it. Follow along with Military Birth Talk: Instagram:...

Join us today for a roundtable discussion about Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex, or DMER. We hear from Dr. Krystal Lau (military spouse) and Tiffany Jordan (retired airman), about their personal experiences with DMER, and learn about the science behind the phenomenon. We also talk about how this experience uniquely impacts military connected people. Follow along with Military Birth Talk: Instagram:...

In today's episode, we're hearing from Cassie who gave birth while with the Air National Guard. Cassie is an a dual-mil relationship, and had her first baby while her husband was away on training, and joining the birth via FaceTime. Her postpartum experience included challenges like DMER and PMDD, and she shares how that impacted her mental health and her career. Her husband was able to...

Military Birth Talk will be back with Season 3 next week! This season will bring more birth stories from service members and military spouses, plus roundtable discussions, updates on advocacy work, policy conversations, and more. Join us on August 29th and find a new episode in your favorite podcast app every Thursday. Follow along with Military Birth Talk: Instagram: @militarybirthtalk Facebook:...

Episode Sponsor: The Breastfeeding Shop Website: www. thebreastfeedingshop.com IG: @ thebreastfeedingshop FB: www.facebook.com/thebreastfeedingshop In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Marilyn who shares two birth and postpartum stories while serving as an Active Duty Marine. Both of Marilyn’s births took place at Military Treatment Facilities, one overseas in Japan and one stateside, and both we...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Audrey who was Active Duty in the Navy before retiring and is now a Marine Corps Spouse. Today she’ll be sharing her second birth story which was a hypnobirthing birth, and she really focuses on the support that her doula provided during the pregnancy while her husband was deployed. Thankfully he returned about a week before she went into labor so he was able to j...

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Tabitha who shares three birth stories while on Active Duty in the Marine Corps, and one after she got out through the VA. Her first birth was at a military hospital and she discusses the stigmatizing experience she had being pregnant as a junior Marine living in the barracks. The subsequent three births took place out in town, after her third birth, at 6 weeks...

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Dr. Olymphia O’Neale White, who serves as an Army reservist as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in perinatal mental health. Dr. O shares her experience with PCOS, a condition which contributed to fertility challenges, and then a silent miscarriage which was discovered at 16 weeks, and managed with a D&C. She talks about navigating these exper...

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Bailee, a Marine Corps spouse. Bailee’s husband was in a training and was unable to attend their first child’s birth, which was an induction that ended in a c-section. For Bailee’s second birth experience she wanted a different experience so she researched more about birth options, got a doula, and prepared for a VBAC. This time her husband was present, and sh...