Military Birth Talk

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Bethel, a Navy Spouse, and one half of the Salty Milspouse podcast. Bethel shares two birth stories, which both took place at at the Naval Hospital in Yokosuka Japan using hypnobirthing. She talks about the incredible village that supported her when her husband deployed at 5 days postpartum, how her mental health was impacted by COVID and solo parenting after...

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Amanda, a Marine Corps Spouse. Amanda shares 4 birth stories, two vaginal births, a C-section, and a VBAC. Some of the births took place on base and some were out in town. She also talks about getting diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and how that impacted her pregnancies and deliveries. She’s now working on her doula certification so that she can help others hav...

This week is National Infertility Awareness week. In today’s episode I’m speaking with Julie, an Army spouse who shares her experience navigating infertility, and then also one birth story. She also talks about her work advocating for TRICARE members to have insurance coverage for fertility treatments, and her experience founding a nonprofit called Building military Families Network to assist and...

In today’s episode I’m speaking with Hannah, who is Active Duty in the Navy. Hannah shares her MTF birth story, and her experience being diagnosed with sepsis in the days following her birth, as the result of a UTI that turned into a kidney infection. She also talks about the experience of being one of the only new moms in her command in recent years, and how she had to carve a path for herself in...

In today’s episode, we’re hearing from Victoria, an Air Force spouse currently living in Okinawa Japan. Victoria learned at her 34 week appointment that she would have to leave the island to give birth, and was sent to San Diego to have her baby. She shares that birth story  and talks about the logistics of being sent off island so late in her pregnancy, as well as what postpartum was like and the...

In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Nicole, an Air Force spouse who shares one birth story, which took place at a German hospital on the economy. She had a traumatic birthing experience there, which was further magnified by the subsequent confirmation of several critical diagnoses for her son, Owen, suspected conditions which had only been uncovered in the weeks before she went into labor. She s...

In today’s episode, we hear from Sam, who’s an Active Duty JAG Attorney serving in the Air Force. Sam shares her three birth stories, which all took place at the same military treatment facility. We also talk about their experience working through Tricare to manage lip and tongue ties with their three kids, Sam’s advocacy work to support breastfeeding parents in the military, and more.  Follow alo...

In today's episode, I'm speaking with Nicole, a Coast Guard spouse who is a chiropractor currently stationed and working in North Carolina. Nicole shares her home birth story, and then we talk about the benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy, and how her identity as a military spouse has evolved through her birthing experience and her professional journey. Follow along with Milit...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by husband and wife team Shanon and Matthew Morris, both retired service members, Shanon from the Navy and Matthew from the Marine Corps. Shanon and Matthew share the story of their daughter’s birth, including some of the logistics around how they navigated their healthcare since Matthew’s service ended earlier than expected. We also hear about their forthcoming book...

In todays episode, I’m joined by Jessica. Jessica experienced a full term still birth while serving on active duty with the Air Force, and she shares that story with us today. In addition to hearing about that pregnancy and the loss of her and her husband’s first daughter, we’ll also hear about Jessica’s subsequent pregnancies and how her care was handled, including the wonderful support that she...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Alexa who shares her experience of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum while stationed overseas in Japan. Alexa served 7 years in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman and is now a Navy spouse. She talks about receiving support from a fertility clinic out in town and then experiencing a miscarriage at 12 weeks. She then shares about her subsequent pregnancy and birth, and...

In today’s episode, we’ll be hearing from Jess, who recently retired after 21 years in the Air Force. Jess shares a bit about the births of each of her three children, and then really dives into the realities of postpartum life as a service member and specifically as an aviator. She shares about being a dual-mil family, breastfeeding and pumping as an aviator, her advocacy work, and the nonprofit...

In today’s episode we’ll be hearing from Master Sergeant Steve Maxwell, whose wife, Zarema, shared her birth stories in episode 4 of Season One. Steve sat down with me to offer his perspective on being a birth partner, and provided some great insight to what he experienced during the births of their three children, which took place at a civilian hospital, a birth center, and then at home with conc...

In today’s episode we’ll be hearing from Air Force spouse Patience, who shares her two off-base birth stories. One birth took place at a duty station with lots of close friends and neighbors, and the other took place during COVID at a new duty station, and with an unexpected deployment three months postpartum, so she discusses how that impacted her postpartum experience. Patience is Licensed Menta...

In the season two premier of the Military Birth Talk podcast, we're hearing all about our host Anni's recent birth! Anni's husband Chris joins as a cohost for this episode, where they share some background from her previous birth, which was a planned c-section for breech, and a bit about their next pregnancy which culminated in a 19-week loss due to Trisomy 18. Then they dive into t...

Season Two of the Military Birth Talk podcast is coming next week! This season, you'll hear from more service members, military spouses, and birth partners who share their stories of pregnancy, giving birth, and navigating the postpartum period all through the lens of the military experience. Follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don't miss an episode.  Follow along wit...

The Season 1 finale is here! We'll be taking a brief break and will be back with new episodes on February 1. If you'd like to help us connect with sponsors for Season 2, please send us an email at podcast@mbrnpc.org. In today’s episode, we’ll be hearing from Alexandra, a Marine Corps spouse who shares one birth story. For the first half of her pregnancy, Alexandra was seen by a civilian...

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...

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 transferr...

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...

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 healthcar...

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, inc...

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 si...

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...

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...