Author addresses breastfeeding in the military

  • Published
  • By Gina Marie Giardina
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Information about breastfeeding while on active duty was presented to active duty mothers, families and medical professionals by author Robyn Roche-Paull March 10 at the Wright-Patterson Medical Center.

"Support for active duty mothers who are breastfeeding is a quality of life issue that impacts recruiting as well as the retention of qualified, trained personnel," said Roche-Paull, who is also a Navy veteran and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia. 

Roche-Paull spoke about not just the history and progress of female and family support in the armed forces, but also about the change and continued support necessary as more and more females join.

Support for breastfeeding mothers also helps to maintain mission and unit readiness, increases morale and reduces absenteeism, said Roche-Paull.  Further, she stated that because of the cost spent on training, it makes economic sense to have a policy that supports and protects these women and their families.

Roche-Paull also discussed a few of the policies that have focused on women and parenting in the armed forces over the years.

In 1951, former-President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 10240, which stated that any woman serving in the armed forces who was a parent could not join the armed forces.  Further, if a woman became pregnant while in the service, she would be discharged. Then in 1971, the Air Force waived that Executive Order and began allowing women with children to enlist and women who became pregnant were not automatically discharged.

Roche-Paull commended the armed forces for the progress they continue to make, but stated that with more and more women joining and being encouraged to join, awareness for women's and family health care needs to follow suit.  This includes breastfeeding.

Beginning in early February, active-duty female Airmen received an increase in fully paid maternity leave to 12 weeks. The Air Force continues to look for ways to support females so they have the ability to--as Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James stated in the article--"serve both their families and the Air Force."

When these active duty mothers come back to work, those who choose to breastfeed are encouraged to do so, according to Air Force Instruction 44-102, section 4.15 titled Breastfeeding and Breast Pumping.

"Breastfeeding provides optimal health benefits for both mother and infant throughout their life spans," the AFI states. "Exclusive breastfeeding is optimal nutrition for the first six months of life."

While not every building is equipped with breastfeeding rooms, there are a few at Wright-Patt. WPMC has a designated breastfeeding room with pumps, and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center has designated rooms for mothers to bring their own pumps. And this just mentions a few.  There are others and supervisors do what they can based on the availability of space.

Approximately 40 people were in attendance for the presentation, and medical professionals were given continuing education credits for participation.

Roche-Paull has won several accolades for her book Breastfeeding in Combat Boots, including being a finalist in the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year awards, National Parenting Products Awards, and the Silver Medal award from the Military Writers Society of America, according to the Breastfeeding in Combat Boots website.