Military Families
LisaBea
member
Military and TTC
LisaBea
member
Hey guys,
I'm currently deployed ( AD Army and dual military) but we have like 40 days left. Once we are back we are going to be TTC. I have about a million questions and I've tried to google a few of them but I can't seem to find answers. First, can you elect to go off post for the prenatal care and birth? How soon do you get maternity ACU's? What kind of things did the doc do (or didn't do) that was different from a civilian doc? De they urge you to take Bradley classes or anything like that? I heard that once you give birth that they give you meds to knock you out and that it is mandatory.. Any other infor would be great too. TIA!
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Re: Military and TTC
Since you are an SM yourself, you can't elect to go off-post. The only way to truly elect to be seen by a civilian OB is to switch to Tricare Standard, which you can't do. However, if your post can't accommodate you for some reason, they will give you a letter of non-availability that will allow you to be seen by a civilian doctor.
I'm not totally sure about the maternity ACUs, but I would imagine that you would go to clothing sales and get them when you feel like your regular ACUs are getting uncomfortable. I know I've seen them on the shelf at clothing sales, so I think you can just go get them when you need them. I don't believe they come and give them to you.
As far as birthing classes, that will really depend on your doctor and what kind of birth you are hoping for. Some doctors "voluntell" you to go to the classes, some couldn't care less. If you are hoping to go med-free classes can be immensely helpful. There are also lots of different classes; most hospitals have a generic childbirth class that will let you know more about their standard procedures. Then there are the method-specific classes like Lamaze, Bradley, Hynobabies, etc.
I've never heard of them giving meds to knock you out after delivery, at least not since the twilight sleep period in the 1940s and 1950s where they knocked out every laboring woman. Assuming you have a relatively normal delivery (meaning you don't need immediate surgery to fix some sort of major complication) the only meds you MIGHT get after you deliver the baby is a shot of Pitocin to help you deliver the placenta faster. But, you can decline that if you want. Most hospitals now encourage you to spend the first hour or two after birth bonding and breastfeeding. They will delay anything they have to do to you or baby (providing it's not emergent) until after that bonding time.
Have a safe rest of your deployment and trip home, and good luck TTC!
Hi from another AD couple! I wish you a speedy final few days of deployment...it always seemed to be the time that took the longest
You *can* go off post as AD, but you need a very valid reason for doing so- such as you felt that the care you received on post was not adequate, and you have worked with the patient advocacy office to resolve the issue but do not have a resolution. This is rare, but I have seen it happen a few times. Honestly, I am receiving excellent care on post, have been able to pick my own doctors and midwife, and am slightly shocked at how well everything is going. You should give your post clinic a chance before trying to run off post, you may be surprised too.
Maternity ACUs (at least here at Hood) can be picked up from CIF as soon as you have your pregnancy profile. Once your PCM confirms pregnancy, and refers you to Women's Health (or if you choose to stay with your Family Medicine practice) you should receive a pregnancy profile. Call your CIF to verify, but all I had to do was take my profile out there and pick up 2 sets of ACUs. I didn't need them until week 25ish, but picked them up around week 18. They run in sizes 10-12-14-16 etc, and can let you try them on to pick what you need. You can also exchange them at any time.
As far as being different from a civilian doc, I haven't found anything different. In reading these boards and seeing what other women are going through, I feel that my care has been the same or better. When there were issues in pregnancy, I was given an u/s- no need to verify with insurance. I've had visits with a neonatalogist, I see an OB monthly to ensure everything is still okay with LO (we had some growing issues), and I hand picked the midwife I go to for regular appointments. I've been through L&D triage for preterm labor and was treated fantastically.
While civilian hospitals charge for classes, all the classes here at free. I've taken nearly every one that is offered at my MTF- a 3 day Intro to Childbirth class, a 3 hour breastfeeding class, a 1 hour anethesia class, an L&D tour, infant feeding, etc. They don't offer Bradley, but considering everything else is a zero cost, I have no issue paying for Hypnobabies classes and hiring a doula- total expense 500$.
My Midwife is a bit crunchy-granola, but that's why I sought her out. The hospital has birthing balls, squat bars, has a 15% c-section rate (the average in the country is 30%), and is opening a new L&D wing with labor tubs. There is no newborn nursery here either, which is fairly progressive to allow baby in room with mom all the time. I thought that a military hospital would suck...but I'm finding that this one offers much more than the local civilian hospitals.
As far as meds to knock you out being mandatory, do you honestly believe that? Seriously. That's stupid, and no, that's not true. You can have pain meds if you want, have a natural birth if you want, and you can refuse any and all drugs if you want. While you are AD and still subject to UCMJ, you simply have to be respectful when declining- and you have patient rights that say you can decline.
I've worked at the facility I am delivering at for the past 5 years as a nurse. I've worked the med-surg, the ICU, was head nurse of the family med clinic, now I work in case management with psych patients. What I have learned is that many things are possible, you just have to ask. If you don't like your doc, switch. If you hate your PCM, request a new one (depends on your unit, if you only have one provider you are stuck). If you want a certain type of provider, ask the nurses in the clinics for recommendations. Attend the classes the hospital offers and find out what services are there. Some things are going to surprise you, in a good way. I would never have guessed that I can do immediate breastfeeding, delayed cord clamping, refuse the Hep B vaccine until 2 weeks, give birth in a squatting position with a midwife, be allowed to have a doula, and be allowed to have photos taken of whatever I want..... yet it's all possible.
Good luck, and come home safe!
Aloha from another dual-mil couple! The last poster was very thorough based on her experience at Hood, which is in some ways similar to my experience so far here in Hawaii.
You are issued maternity ACUs from CIF with just your pregnancy profile here, although some posts require a memo from your commander, which you would get during your initial counseling from once your pregnancy has been confirmed.
Here we are required to participate in a Pregnancy PT program as well, which includes one day of education and 4 days of exercise in a normal week. Classes are varied and not in-depth at all, but it is a good start. At your first OB appointment you also get a registration packet which asks you which classes you would be interested in taking, everything from Labor and Delivery Tour to Lamaze to breastfeeding, to infant care, etc. Most are free but some have a small fee attached (still much cheaper than in the civilian world!)
We do not have the choice to pick our provider, although we can choose between a nurse practitioner or an OB for our monthly check-ups. We generally will see a different one each appointment unless you are really good with them when you make your appointment and request the same person you just saw and their schedule is open.
The only major difference that I've noticed so far between us and civilian docs is that many civilian docs will do a sonogram to try to hear the heartbeat as early as 8 weeks. I have to wait until 13 weeks. Some civilians, depending on insurance, get more than one ultrasound, but we only get 1 unless there are complications. I am electing to spend about $185 dollars in a few weeks to get a 4D ultrasound off post to surprise DH for Valentines Day (he is deployed and will miss pretty much my entire pregnancy and possibly the birth unless his R&R is timed perfectly). I figure that is a reasonable price to pay considering all of my other care is free. Other than those two small differences, everything is essentially the same as getting care in the civilian world.
Godspeed as you near the end of your deployment, be safe, and good luck with everything when you get home!
~Mandie~