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Active duty AF-maternity leave and NICU
Hey! I am pregnant with twins and I know they are much much more likely to spend some time in the NICU. How did your commands work with your situation of having a baby in the NICU? My biggest fear is they will come home right before my leave ends or will still be in the hospital. I am worried about getting push back from my command to get back to work. According to my OB I should expect to be out of work between 24-28 weeks to allow me to focus on resting and letting the twins grow. I know after being out of work for that long plus maternity leave they are going to pressure me to get back to work. I feel bad for missing that much work but my babies are my priority. I have 60 days of personal leave and don't mind using it if needed. I am just interested to hear what your experiences were like....
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Re: Active duty AF-maternity leave and NICU
I don't think you get 24-28 weeks PLUS Maternity leave.....that is your Maternity leave. The doc is probably guessing you'll be on bed rest towards the end since your having twins plus you get 12 weeks of Maternity leave like everyone else.
I wouldn't get your hopes up on your command approving additional leave right away on top of the 24-28 weeks either. My DH's boss who is a LCDR had a baby and she got her 12 weeks then she had to go back to work for a month before she was allowed to take leave she had saved up....and even then she was only allowed to take 3 weeks.
Also it's highly possible your babies won't even need NICU time. Twins run in my family and none of them had to spend time in the NICU. I would just prepare for the worst and if they do let you take more leave then great but if not at least you're mentally prepared to go back! Good luck.
Edit: Also your command will be looking at it as "the needs of the Military" comes first so for your sake keep the statement about your babies being priority to yourself because right now they are looking for any excuse to discharge people. A girl I use to be in the Reserves with actually got processed out of the Navy because she had a baby and didn't have anyone to take care of the baby if she were to be deployed.
Page Ojo, either here or on the Multiples board. She's AD AF.
FWIW, there are a number of twin MoMs that never went on bedrest.
XP from Preemie board
Have you brought in a note from your OB specifying what hours you can and cannot work yet? Having her put it in writing and having it filed in your PIF and on your person will greatly remove pressure from you higher ups. That would be my first step.
Second would be to NOT start worrying about NICU time! Mine blindsided me but I had a very understanding section.
Third, you can be granted permissive TDY. I'm not sure how the actual paperwork flows but I had a coworker who's son was in some trouble and her leave was used up. She utilized emergency leave days and PTDY so that she was fine as far as the military was concerend. Again, we had an understanding section but we were also low manned so she needed the paperwork in her corner.
Once on bed rest, you will also need a profile generated. That will start with your OB but will HAVE to be generated out of the MDG/ HAWC. It is up to you to ensure that that is being done. That is the only way to keep your section off of your back and keep them from calling you constantly.
I would also try to find out who handles all of the leave/ emergency leave/ TDY/ PTDY/ profiles/ etc in your unit. Since they did away with Orderly Rooms, each section does something a little bit different. This person SHOULD be spun up the regs and will be able to answer most of the questions left to be asked. Be very, VERY friendly to this person LOL
If you can't find the person in your section, call your MPF/ MPS. You may have to get passed around a ton on the phone and play days of phone tag but it will be worth it! Their only job is to know the regs and paperwork procedures. They will for sure know the answers to the questions you have. But first you MUST try your section's POC. If you don't, the MPF/ MPS personnel will just direct you to them, leading to frustration on your end.
So to re-iterate, I would begin laying the ground work for the paperwork now. But I would also not start stressing about it now unless your OB has specifically told you to prepare for NICU time because of this, that, or the other.
And I wouldn't tell everyone who will listen at work about it. Discuss it with your supervisor and let them handle the chain from there. If you go about it any other way, then yes they may begin looking at you as though you are trying to get out of work. It sucks but it's fact, as I'm sure you know from being AD.
I'm sorry for the novel. I was trying to give as much info as I could! If you have any other questions, please PM me. I will try my best!
ETA: This is written from my own, personal experience and does NOT represent every base/ command. I'm just trying to offer options and a jumping off point.
Not having a family care plan has always be a reason to be discharged from the service, has been well before the draw down.
Yes but they are looking for ANY reason now a days to discharge people. They are changing rules and and regulations...of course it will vary command to command. For example the base we're at you use to be able to fail the PRT 3 times before they kicked you out now if you fail even 1 they consider seperation.
My point was she shouldn't go around saying her kids come before her job because that's not how the Military thinks. Job first then family. The Military isn't like any other job where you can get time off whenever you want. If she has a good command then I am sure they will work with her but not all commands are good.
I'm AD Navy and used to be AD Air Force. Everyone with a child needs a Family Care Plan, period. If you can't figure it out, then you need to leave the service.
I don't know anywhere they are "changing rules and regulations" just to throw people out, and I'm the head of Human Resources/Medical Readiness at my MTF.
AFI's and Navy Instructions do not change from command to command. They are governed by higher headquarters in the AF and Navy.
By the way, we do not get 12 weeks in the Navy. We get 6 for vaginal and 8 for a c/s. I took 14 because I used 8 extra weeks of personal leave.
OP- You are not necessarily going to go on bedrest, nor should you want to. People put on bedrest generally have actual medical problems and are on bedrest to protect their unborn babies from being born too early. I have two girlfriends who have had twins and both worked up until 38 weeks pregnant when they went into labor.
I think you just need to stay healthy and see how things go with your pregnancy.
First off, I have twins and I didn't need any bedrest and my boys were never in the NICU. I think it's a good idea to be prepared for those possibilities, but don't necessarily expect them.
My friend was put on hospital bedrest at 22 weeks. It was considered temporary disability, not maternity leave. She still got her six weeks after her LOs were born. She did have a lot of NICU time and was able to use her leave during that time. Her commander was very understanding and allowed her to take one day a week off to spend in the NICU. Her husband was able to use his FMLA to get time off as well. If your doctor decides you can't work after 24 to 28 weeks for some reason, that might not count towards your maternity leave but rather be considered temporary disability.