Military Birth Talk
Military Birth Talk features birth stories from service members, spouses, veterans, and providers, all told through the unique lens of birthing in the military. Birth is a profound, unforgettable experience leaving a lifelong imprint on our hearts. For military families and service members, giving birth and parenting in our community presents its own unique, challenging, and empowering realities--giving birth alone or in a foreign country, navigating Tricare during miscarriage or infertility obstacles, or being on Active Duty without the option to birth outside of the hospital are just a few of the realities we may face. By sharing our stories, we hope to increase transparency and information for fellow military families, providers, and policy makers. Tune in each Thursday for a new episode.
Military Birth Talk is a project of the Military Birth Resource Network and Postpartum Coalition. To learn more, please visit www.MBRNPC.org.
Are you a military community member with a story to share? Fill out an interest form at https://www.militarybirthresourcenetwork.org/podcast
Episodes
68 episodes
66. Navy Lt Samantha McLaughlin Talks Experiencing PPROM as an Active Duty L&D Nurse with NICU Stay
In today’s episode I’m speaking with LT Samantha Mclaughlin, who’s Active Duty. LT Mclaughlin shares the birth story of her daughter who was born just shy of 33 weeks, after her water broke at 31 weeks. At the time, Samantha was working as a La...
•
47:37
65. Melissa Talks Natural Hospital Birth With Hypnobirthing While on Active Duty In the Coast Guard
In today’s episode I’m speaking with Melissa, who is Active Duty in the Coast Guard. Melissa mostly focuses on her third birth experience, which was a natural birth through a midwife clinic out in town. She had had epidural births with her prio...
•
35:05
64. Navy Spouse Ebony Talks On-Base Home Birth With Deployed Spouse, Hypnobirthing, and the Importance of Community Support
In today’s episode, I’m joined by Navy Spouse Ebony. Ebony is a homeschooling mom of five kids, and she and her family are currently stationed in Stuttgart. In this episode Ebony shares the birth story of her third child, who was born at home o...
•
45:01
63. Coast Guard Spouse and Physical Therapist Jen Talks Long Birth Out In Town During COVID, Cross Country PCS With a Newborn, and Honing In Professionally on Pelvic Floor PT
In today’s episode I’m speaking with Dr. Jen Bertoluzzi who is a Coast Guard Spouse and Physical Therapist with a focus on pelvic floor PT. Jen’s birth experiences begin with a miscarriage that happened right at tbeginning of the COVID 19 lockd...
•
42:13
62. Navy Spouse Alice's Birth Center to Hospital Birth Story, and Why Agency in Birth Choices Matters
Alice is a Navy Spouse who is originally from the UK, where she worked as a licensed midwife. She joins Military Birth Talk today to share the story of her pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience with her first daughter. She had originally ...
•
35:04
61. Army Captain Jessica Cooper Talks Long Induction, Geo-Baching, Postpartum Recovery While in PME
In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Captain Jessica Cooper, who is a medical service officer serving in the Army. During Jessica’s pregnancy she saw midwives through the community hospital on Fort Campbell, and she had a really positive exper...
•
51:16
60. Space Force Spouse Genesis Talks Genetic Testing During Pregnancy With Abnormal Findings, Induction, and C-Section Birth Story
In today’s episode, Space Force spouse Genesis shares her pregnancy and birth story with her son. During her pregnancy, she opted to do genetic testing, which revealed that her son was at risk of being diagnosed with a chromosome abnormality. I...
•
47:19
59. Amber Talks Mental Health Challenges During Pregnancy While on Active Duty, Two C-Sections, and The Grief of Getting Out
In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Amber who was active duty in the air force for 4 years, before getting out after the birth of her second child. She had a very challenging first pregnancy with her son, which included a lot of mental ...
•
Episode 59
•
42:58
58. Retired Navy OB Dr. John Richard Talks 24 Years in Navy Obstetrics
In today's episode, we're joined by Dr. John Richard who served 24 years as an OB in the Navy. During our conversation he shares his perspective on a whole range of issues including military medicine as a whole, staffing issues, how rank impact...
•
55:31
57. Air Force Spouse Courtney Talks Two C-Sections at the Same MTF, Military Resources for Families During Deployments, and Setting Your Expectations as a Military Spouse
In today’s episode, I’m talking with Air Force Spouse Courtney. Courtney shares her two c-section birth stories, which both took place at the same military treatment facility in Florida. Courtney’s husband deployed shortly after both births, bu...
•
38:39
56. Dual-Mil Navy Couple Tiana and Myer Talk Birth Stories, Family Care Plans, Career Sacrifices, and the "Secret Society" of Fathers in the Navy
In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Myer & Tiana Krah who were both Active Duty in the Navy, and are both now retired. They have four little boys, including a set of twins, so we hear about Tiana’s C-section, then her VBAC, and then the b...
•
Episode 56
•
55:51
55. Navy Spouse Sarah Talks Eclamptic Seizure While Solo Parenting, NICU Experience, and Leaning On Your Community
In today’s episode, we’re hearing from Navy Spouse Sarah, who tells the story of her third pregnancy and birth. When Sarah was 28 weeks pregnant, she was in the car with her other two kids when she had an eclamptic seizure. Her husband, a subma...
•
35:25
54. Navy Pilot Jacque Talks Pregnancy Loss, Homebirth, and the Importance of Not "Outsourcing Your Power" During Pregnancy
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 pi...
•
Episode 54
•
52:24
53. Annie Talks Life As a Military Midwife Plus Her Own Birth Stories Including Hospital Births, Home Births, and a C-Section
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 mo...
•
51:45
52. EmilieAn Talks Three Births and Eleven Miscarriages As A Military Spouse, Finding Her Niche In the Doula World, and Why Military Families Are So Special
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 o...
•
50:51
51. Coast Guard Spouse Michelle Talks Gestational Trophoblastic Disease, Two Birth Stories, and Hysterectomy
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 chemothe...
•
33:26
50. Air Force Spouse Molly Talks Pregnancy Experience at First Duty Station, Off Base Birth Story, and Navigating Postpartum Depression While Learning Life as a New Military Spouse
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...
•
37:59
49. Airman Brawnlyn Talks Infertility Challenges and Working with the Air Force to Create Change, How Medical Racism Impacts Maternity Care, Accidental Homebirth following a Precipitous Labor, and the Importance of Self-Advocacy
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 infertilit...
•
46:01
47. Colonel Melissa Dombrock Talks Overseas Births, Navigating Pregnancy and Postpartum As a Flying Squadron Commander, and the State of Women's Healthcare in the Military
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 accident...
•
1:05:04
46. Advocacy Talk: MBRNPC's Samantha Sliney on Breastmilk Transport Entitlement and How Making Pregnancy a Qualifying Life Event Could Significantly Improve Birth Choice for Service Women
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...
•
39:31
45. Airman Klarissa Talks UK Birth Story: Emergency C-Section, Exclusive Pumping, Parenting In a Dual-Mil Family, and How the Womens Initiatives Team is Tackling Retention
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 havin...
•
42:03
44. Army Spouse Kristal's Birth Stories, with Conversation on How Her Medical Background Impacted Her Experience, East Asian Postpartum Cultural Practices, and the Importance of Holistic Family Care
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 ...
•
55:39
43. Jazmon's Births While on Active Duty in the Air Force, Dual Mil Dynamics, Lack of Postpartum Support and Career Impact
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 fro...
•
33:00
42. Satin's Hospital Birth Story: Beautiful pregnancy despite lack of family support, followed by hospital birth and experience of medical racism during postpartum care
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 famil...
•
55:24
41. Navy Spouse Kara's Hospital and Home Birth Stories
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, birt...
•
49:45