Breastfeeding in the Army

Breastfeeding your child while you’re in the Army comes with its fair share of challenges, but the payoff can be so worth it! Here are some ways to make your breastfeeding journey a little bit easier.

 

I remember we had an Army Mama that was about four months postpartum in our unit when our annual training was about to kick off. We were talking about her new brand new bundle of joy and I casually asked if she was breastfeeding.

 

This question wasn’t intended to be nosy. I was curious because if she was, then she had certain entitlements that must be afforded to postpartum Soldiers.

 

My boyfriend was her squad leader, so I knew that she’d be fine if she was breastfeeding, because he was my biggest advocate when I was nursing our children. But I was astounded when she told me that she had quit cold turkey due to annual training.

 

Although she was aware that there were certain lactation policies in place, she didn’t feel like she’d be able to utilize them in a field environment. This broke my heart. Which is why I make it one of my top priorities to advocate for our Army Mamas that are able and choose to breastfeed their children.

 

Let me put it this way, if men could feed babies with their bodies, then there would have already been more than enough support in Army policies for the whole organization. We, Army Mamas, know that we have rights, but some of us are too timid to exercise those rights.

 

We’re made to feel like we’re shamming if we take a pump break and that we’re asking for the stars with an actual lactation room. But yet it’s fine and dandy when others can take 5,000 smoke breaks during the work day that is probably longer than the time it takes you to express milk for the whole week.

 

But I digress.

 

Today we’re going to talk about what our rights are when breastfeeding in the Army and how you can build the courage to use those rights throughout your breastfeeding journey.

 

 

Lactation policy

 

You’ll find the lactation policy linked in the heading above, but we’ll break it down a bit and talk about some common misconceptions.

 

As a lactating Army Mama, you must be provided with the following:

• a clean, private room with locking capabilities
• the room must have a chair and flat surface (to place the pump and supplies on)
• the room must have an electrical outlet
• the room must be a reasonable distance from a water source
• adequate time to express milk (this differs for every woman and dependent on the age of your baby)

Although the lactation policy is pretty darn explicit, we still have Army Mamas pumping in restrooms and their vehicles.

 

Now if the vehicle is more convenient for you, that’s great that you have found something that works for you and your baby. However, the lactation policy clearly states we must be provided a private room with locking capabilities. If you are in a leadership position and were forced to pump in your car, please don’t encourage the mentality of, “Well I had to suffer, so you should too.”

 

Things are changing in the right direction because too many Army Mamas had to “make it work” at the expense of their mental/physical health and their child’s wellbeing.

 

No lock, is a no go. And no that doesn’t include the bathroom stall. Have you ever seen those forensic shows where they test toothbrushes for fecal matter? and then they usually end up giving a high reading for poop particles on something that we put in our mouths!

 

So imagine pumping in a restroom where other people are coming and going to take care of business and your chain of command is telling you that you have to feed your baby milk expressed in a stall. Hard pass for this Army Mama.

 

Pumping in the Field

 

Another misconception is having to pump out in the field. The lactation policy makes it very clear that if you don’t have access to all of those things listed, then it is a “no go”.

 

When I was nursing my second child, we had a field training exercise that took place at a range. So I had to coordinate pump breaks throughout my stay.

 

My supervisor would pick me up at whatever location and we’d head over to the range safety office where I’d set up shop for the next 30 minutes. Sometimes I think she looked forward to those breaks more than I did.

 

My biggest advice if you are going to be out in the field is to have an honest conversation with your leadership to go over the following talking points:

• how often you will need to express milk
• what the lactation policy dictates
• possible storage of your breastmilk
• hygiene practicality for safely expressing your milk, cleaning pump parts, and your breasts afterwards
• harmful effects of not being able to properly express milk frequently

Unfortunately, there were some moments where I did not have the privacy that I wanted and I wish I had made more of a fuss about it. There were times I’d have to pump in my tent, but Soldiers would come in and out. Although some people don’t care about things like this, it was a big issue for me.

 

I didn’t want anyone seeing my nipples being sucked through a nipple shield with little drops of milk as I set up or cut the pump off. It was awkward for me because I am a private person when it comes to things like that, but I was forced to expose a private moment multiple times.

 

When my boyfriend heard about what was happening, he stood up for me. It shouldn’t have to be that way, because there is a policy in place to protect us.

 

I like to make the comparison that if your unit is planning to go out to the field, a water source must be provided at the location. You chain of command doesn’t say, “Well, you’ll just have to go without water for this entire exercise because we can’t figure out how to get the water out to that location.” No, they either wouldn’t make their Soldiers go to that location or they would find some other way to get you water.

 

So why do we allow them to deprive us (and really our child, too) of “water” in this situation?

 

Not expressing milk can lead to a drop in milk supply, milk clogs, mastitis, and even worse hospitalization if mastitis is left untreated. So try to remember, you are not being dramatic when you demand that your leadership afford you the rights of a lactating Soldier.

 

Support in Garrison

 

I know I sound like a broken record when I say that the lactation policy is pretty explicit on what the command needs to provide for their lactating Soldiers, but you kind of have to be when there is hardly any movement on getting lactation rooms for our Army Mamas.

 

Like I said before, there would be lactation rooms in every building if men were able to breastfeed. Think about it, both males and females have to use the restroom therefore there are restrooms in dang near every building. Both male and females use toilet paper when they go to the restroom, therefore there is free toilet paper available for all sexes.

 

Only females menstruate and lactate. . . so naturally we need to buy our feminine hygiene products and figure out where we’re going to pump on our own. Please, make it make sense!

 

If you plan on breastfeeding, you’ll need to notify your chain of command immediately so that they can make the appropriate accommodations. If your chain of command refuses to give you your designated rights for lactation, then get with your EOL because it is an EO issue.

 

And another subtle reminder, you are not being dramatic or a difficult female by exercising your rights for the wellbeing of your child(ren). 

 

Although your command already has the guidance laid out for them in the policy, it softens the blow if you come with a prepared plan. You know your body and what will work best for you, so it’s important to build that into your plan.

 

Topics for discussion might look like this:

• your pumping break schedule and how often will you need to express milk
• the possibility of needing to pump more often if you have a dip in supply (e.g. power pumping)
• storage of milk and pump parts
• will you be using your lunch break to nurse your baby at a local daycare (important so that you aren’t held over during the lunch hour)
• the location of your lactation room (whether you work in a private office or have one available to you)
• discuss the importance of privacy during your pump break (emphasize locking capabilities and “do not distrub” signs)

Some of these topics might be awkward to talk about with your chain of command, but it can serve as a wake up call.

 

This means that you could be educating them about this topic for the first time if you have predominantly male leadership. Help them gain the insight to be able to properly lead Army Mamas, especially at one of our child(ren)’s most vulnerable time of development.

 

If we don’t talk about these things openly, they won’t be normalized. It is up to us to normalize breastfeeding in the Army. 

 

When you begin your plan of attack coming off maternity leave, make sure to check out my article on Pumping Bag Necessities. That checklist will help take the stress off the day-to-day grind of work-life balance.

 

Professional Military Education

 

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been passed up for PME for promotion due to pregnancy or postpartum related obstacles. Too many of us!

 

One of the biggest improvements for Army Mamas that has happened in 2021 is our ability to attend PME while pregnant. I think the pandemic really opened a lot of eyes that the physical portion of PMEs doesn’t dictate whether or not you will be a great leader. Also, we’re pretty badass to begin with because we have the ability to create life, provide that life nourishment with our bodies, all while making a name for ourselves in the Army.

 

Army regulation does not say anything about disallowing nursing mothers from attending PME. It does however have a lactation policy that I keep bringing up. And this lactation policy applies Army wide!

 

I have seen Army Mamas attend and kick butt at BOLC, WOBC, BLC, you name it while they were nursing! 

 

You can too! All you need to do is tailor your regular work pumping plan to school. Army Directive 2015-43 mandates that you will be afforded those rights.

 

You must first notify the school leadership of your intent to pump and the accommodations that you will need based on the above checklist and your physiological necessities. Try not to let them intimidate you, because it is a reality that they will try to tell you that they won’t be able to accommodate you. This is the wrong answer and sounds like an true EO issue as well.

 

I honestly can’t fault schoolhouses for this, because everyone assumes that you’re not allowed to attend schools because you are nursing. If more Army Mamas understood that they could attend and weren’t made to feel intimidated, then they would exercise their rights and this “anomaly” of breastfeeding would be normalized by now.

 

Some Army Mamas have presented their pumping schedules, were afforded breaks to take care of business, and stored their milk in a fridge/freezer in the schoolhouse building.

 

Other Army Mamas packed up their family or coordinated childcare so that they could nurse their little one during longer break periods.

 

It’s up to you to determine what is best for you and your family’s needs/capabilities. But please don’t let yourself be told no by others if you’re not ready to end your breastfeeding journey before 12 months postpartum.