Has  anyone in here had any experience w/ a mother in the National Guard or 
Army  Reserves?  I have permission from mom to ask this question.  Mom is  
bfing her 2nd baby and everything is going wonderful and she is so  happy.  BF w/ 
her first child didn't work out and she is determined that  this experience 
would go well.  However, she and her husband are in the  National Guard (same 
unit) and are scheduled for their annual summer camp  training in June.  
Usually, the summer camps are in "war-like"  conditions: tents, no electricity, water 
issues, etc.-- you get the  picture.  Her baby will be 3 months old and she 
is not really wanting to  leave her or wean, and has concerns about pumping 
under questionable sanitary  conditions. 

Does the military grant any type of leave of absence in  this type of 
situation?

Suzanne Bowes RN, IBCLC


********************
Suzanne, 
 
This soldier should check with her JAG (Judge Advocate General--lawyers)  
office about the current regulations.  However, in my nine years on active  duty 
(1994-2003) and my experience since (my husband is still Active Duty and I  
work with military families for lactation issues) the rules are this:
           1.   There is no regulation about breastfeeding for any branch of 
the military as far  as I know.  Breastfeeding falls under the general 
category of post-partum  issues and these are the regulations for the Army: 
            2.  A  mother is non-deployable (normally field training doesn't 
count but it could)  for 3-4 months post-partum.  This comes under the heading 
of "commander's  discretion".  I have seen commander's get really creative to 
help their  soldiers and really unimaginative to toe the party line.
            3.   A mother is exempt from an Army Physical Fitness Test and 
weigh-in for 180 days  after birth.  
            4.   She is authorized 42 days convalescent leave (a.k.a. 
maternity leave) from the  date of discharge from the hospital/MTF (military 
treatment facility).   Although this doesn't apply to your mother I want to make the 
following point  for general knowledge.  Sometimes moms get short changed on 
days of  maternity leave because the paperwork for her leave starts the day she  
delivered.  In the military you can't be in more than one status category  at 
one time (i.e. you can't be MIA and AWOL at the same time).  You are  either 
an in-patient OR on convalescent leave, therefore convalescent leave days  
start the DAY AFTER discharge from the hospital (this can amount to another four  
days off if the last day falls on a Friday and thus gives mom the two days  
in-patient plus a weekend).
            5.   There is no such thing as a leave of absence or other such 
luxury for soldiers,  unfortunately!!  This mom might be able to do her 2 week 
drill with another  unit in the area and thus she and her husband wouldn't be 
gone at the same time  but I don't think she would be able to NOT do the 
drill.  Unless her  commander excuses her from the drill she must be there.  She 
could be part  of the "rear detachment" that keeps things running in the home 
office while the  bulk of the unit is doing the training exercise if they are 
doing that in  her unit.  The commander has some leeway in these situations but 
most  aren't willing to take the heat for what you are talking about.
 
So, barring anything significant changing with the mother or her unit, a  
plan should be made for her to express and, hopefully, store and transport her  
milk to her baby while she is gone.  Having pumped in the field several  times 
I can tell you it is easier than one might imagine.  The cooks and  mail 
personnel (assuming they will get mail there) usually go back "to the  rear" (i.e. 
the nearest base or place to replenish supplies) about once each  day.  
Usually the cooks have ice, electricity and a tent.  Also, the  motor pool (the 
car/truck garage) usually has electricity.  So, if she can  start networking now 
with the soldiers who are cooks and mechanics she might get  access to 
electricity for pumping a couple of times each day (or more) and ice  to keep the milk 
cold (I kept my milk storage bags in a large Ziploc full of  ice).  If the 
cooks or whomever are leaving the field site and going  anywhere close to where 
her baby will be at that time, someone can meet the Army  truck and do a hand 
off of the EBM (a small cooler or freezer bag works nicely  as no one has to 
know what it contains if that is an issue) to the baby's  caregiver or other 
milk angel willing to help the mom and baby.
Of course hand expression works well too and she has plenty of time to  
practice.  One of my soldiers hand expressed into a large Ziploc bag and  kept it 
on ice until she or someone else could make a "milk run".
If she can't get the milk to her baby, she might be able to freeze the milk  
if freezers are available (most Guard units do their drill on a post with 
normal  facilities (i.e. dining hall etc))and she could coordinate with them to 
keep her  milk on ice/frozen until she leaves for home.
If all else fails and she has to feed the milk to the local wild life, her  
baby will not wean in two weeks at 3 months of age (most likely) and she just  
needs to pump/express to keep up her supply and be prepared for some time to  
adjust when she returns.  See if the caregiver could cup  feed or something 
w/o bottles.  I worked with a mom who pumped for 6 weeks  in another country and 
returned to resume nursing her 6 month old.  It is  difficult but worth it, 
of course.
The sanitary conditions are determined by each soldier, basically.   Every 
soldier has a canteen of water at all times.  She can always wash her  hands 
(and rinse/wipe her breasts) prior to beginning expression.
Basically, the more leg work and coordination she does prior to leaving the  
easier it will be for her to outline and follow a plan.  Most soldiers just  
don't know who to talk to in order to make this happen.  In most units  there 
isn't anyone who is going to set this up or offer to help but if she  requests 
help and starts the ball rolling she might be surprised who will step  up.  
 
If she or anyone else has any questions about this, please contact  me.  I am 
happy to talk to anyone by phone also.
 
Christie Pillado
El Paso, TX
 

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