Email this page to friends About the Author Gene Thomas Gomulka is a retired Navy Chaplain with over 30 years of pastoral and military experience. Having received the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award from the Secretary of the Navy "for literary achievement and inspirational leadership," his goal is to promote better military marriages. To learn more about his recent works, The Survival Guide for Marriage in the Military, and his Marriage and Military Life inventory for dating and married couples, visit the Survival Guide for Marriage in the Military Website. Gene Gomulka Archives Deployment Center Spouse & Family Benefits and Resources Military Opinions Index

Dear Gene-Thomas, New parents receive time away from deployment for the birth of a child, but then must report back to duty during which time they are away from their child. These parents are undergoing a tremendous amount of stress, are fraught with guilt and are having a difficult time contending with family members who are less than tactful (i.e., “What are you doing in Iraq when your baby needs you?”). What are the armed services doing to help both mothers and children in these circumstances?

Megan Turak

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Dear Megan,

Prior to 1972, service women who became pregnant were involuntarily separated from the Armed Services. In 1972, with the establishment of the All Volunteer Force, the Department of Defense (DOD) authorized provisions to permit Services to retain uniformed women parents on a case-by-case basis. By 1975, DOD mandated the end of involuntary separations due to pregnancy or parenthood.

Today, pregnancy policies vary from one branch of the military to another. For example, Army regulations (AR 635-200, paragraphs 1-16, 1-36, 5-11, and 6-3; chapter 8) provide pregnant women with the option of remaining on active duty or separating. In the Navy, while “a pregnant servicewoman may request separation from active duty, requests for separation will not normally be approved unless there are extenuating circumstances” (SECNAV 100.10). The Marine Corps recently extended the time to assignment to a deploying unit for pregnant women from 6 months to 12 months from the date of delivery (MARADMIN 133/05 of 18 Mar 05).

Pregnant service women who have the option of separating must consider how they will care for their children if they decide to remain on active duty. Obviously, this is more challenging for those whose chances of deploying are much higher.

While the media recently reported how multiple deployments are contributing to higher military divorce rates, little has been said about how children born into these broken homes, or newborn children separated from their deployed mothers, may likewise prove to be “war casualties.”

In a recent case involving a woman who gave birth to her child in prison, a judge ordered the release of the mother after the woman's attorney provided evidence showing how newborn children are prone to emotional and behavioral problems when separated from their mothers in their very early years of life.

According to the Council of Scientific Affairs in a report to the American Medical Association, “Disruption of the bond between the ages of 6 months and 4 years is believed to have particularly devastating effects on the development of the child…. Such children are more likely to have deviations in personality development that lead to aggressiveness, coldness in personal relationships, difficulties with learning, and difficulty with parenting as an adult….A child over 6 months of age who is separated from its mother will generally exhibit fear and distress. He or she will eventually become attached to this new caregiver but may become extremely anxious and ‘clingy.' If the child is then reunited with its mother, this in turn can promote feelings of anger in the child, making it difficult to re-establish the previous bond. ” The report further suggested that “infants placed with relatives directly after birth, or in the months immediately following birth, who then are reunited with their mothers, may experience developmental problems, assuming the children are less than 4 years of age.”

The issue you raise is a very important one. Given the relatively short history of deploying military mothers, I would not be surprised if DOD has not thoroughly studied this issue. An organizations such as yours may wish to recommend that they do so and, thereafter, the respective Services may wish to reexamine how to accommodate pregnant women, particularly those who face deploying during their children's first few years of life.

Gene-Thomas Gomulka

Columnist and author whose books are available at www.plaintec.net

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