Posted on Dec 10, 2014
CPL Food Service Specialist
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Once I became pregnant with my second child I noticed a great deal of soldiers started mocking me, giving me a very hard time even slandering my name thru out the company. No matter how hard I worked and showed my higher ups that I was still an outstanding soldier I was still classified as a s*h!t bag because I were pregnant. Through out my pregnancy and til the end the appointments for pregnancy became almost an everyday thing, so of course the male ncos started complaining but what I didn't understand were the female ncos that had babies in the military saying all kinds of things making it seem like I was lying. I had all of my appointment slips so my question is it a norm for females to get singled out and labeled for bringing in a bundled of joy.
Posted in these groups: D6865484 Pregnancy
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Responses: 13
COL Jean (John) F. B.
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Edited >1 y ago
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Totally unacceptable. If a pregnant soldier is accomplishing her duties in accordance with the medical restrictions/profile, anybody chastising her is out of line and should be corrected.

Being pregnant is a "medical condition" that limits a soldier's ability to do certain things, which gets more restrictive as the pregnancy progresses until birth of the child. Only an idiot would see that as anything other than what it is.

Of course, this all presupposes that the pregnant service member is not "riding the sick book" and taking advantage of the pregnancy to get out of things she is capable of doing within her profile.
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CPL Food Service Specialist
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10 y
Every female pregnancy is different and I agree that "riding the sick book" is wrong because I seen it in action. Some females make it really hard for other females like me doing stuff like that but if a female is sick or having contractions don't nobody know except that female. I've exactly had to break my profile many of times because I was not getting help in a timely matter, no one noticed that. In the future I hope something can be done to change how females let alone pregnant females are viewed in the Army even if I have to rank up to voice my opinions.
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COL Jean (John) F. B.
COL Jean (John) F. B.
10 y
CPL (Join to see)

I'll probably be crucified for saying this, but maybe a solution is to put pregnant soldiers in a medical holding detachment or something, where they can still be productive but also ensure they are not harming themselves or their babies by trying to do too much (oftentimes to not have to endure the ridicule you describe).
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PO1 Cryptologic Technician (Technical)
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>1 y
COL Jean (John) F. B. - I don't think you are being crucified, Sir but I agree that the SM should be re-assigned to a temporary command. Some of the tasks cannot be accomplished because of the SM's condition (i.e. pregnant). Once the SM has given birth, and has gone through her pregnancy tour, she should be re-assigned to her permanent command (if able) to continue mission completion.
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Sgt Tammy Wallace
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short answer to your question: yes, unfortunately, it is the norm. is it justified? no. is it sad? yes. the bottom-line is this: ( as immature and ridiculous as this explanation to their actions is going to sound, please take heed ) they are just stupid lazy soldiers who are jealous of the fact that it appears as if you are getting "special treatment" or a "pass" from not having to do what they are required to do. I know it will be difficult, however, try to ignore them...just continue with your SCHEDULED appointment, eat right and continue to do some type of exercise, because when your 42 days of maternity leave is up, (Marines get 42 days, not sure what you guys get) you're going to be expected to run just like everybody else, pass the fitness tests just like everyone else, keep up with the humps (force marches/hikes once again, I'm not familiar with Army regulations and terminology) and look good in uniform, just like everyone else....my suggestion to you is simple: make sure you do everything better than everyone else and look better than everyone else as well and do NOT complain or whine about other soldiers "picking on you"...unless you are blatantly being discriminated against, passed over for a promotion or an award that you rightfully deserve, then just leave it alone...the least amount of attention you pay to bullies and envious "babies" the better...pay attention to yourself and self growth and let your performance speak for you
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SFC Intelligence Analyst
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I have a question, did you get pregnant prior to a deployment or a NTC rotation? Before you crucify me, the reason for the question is that I have seen that happen to females that get pregnant prior to one of those events and some Soldiers right away start saying that they did it to get out of it.

Just to set the record straight, I am not condoning that type of behavior towards females
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SGT Team Leader
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10 y
Female SMs who dare to have babies while in the military are stigmatized. Unfortunately, this label was applied to all women...because it is true that some (SOME) have gotten pregnant intentionally to avoid deployments. I have quite a few, too many, to dismiss this as a myth. And, honestly, it saps a little joy out of the pregnancy process for everyone else.
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CPL Food Service Specialist
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10 y
I am in a unit were they have told all of the cooks that deploying for us was slim to none, so that had nothing to do with how they felt/treated towards me. I believe that it doesn't matter what the situation is. You could be happily married, once was the pt stud of the company, more ppl are going to feel negative towards a pregnancy in the military than positive. Something really needs to be brought to the attention to the higher ups about this, because not only did I have to hear slack from the soldiers but also from the military providers who really are not properly trained in their fields. Asking me questions like "Do I know who the baby daddy is?" Even though I was clearly stated that I was married in all of the forms I had filled out. That is embarrassing and stressful but considering that I am a young black female in the army everyone automatically assumes that majority of us are single parents. So what im trying to say once again is that something needs to be done, there needs to be a change.
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PO1 Cryptologic Technician (Technical)
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>1 y
CPL (Join to see) - I believe that training on an aspect of support for pregnant females within the command needs to be applied. I am not saying that everyone has to curtail everything for you (as a pregnant SM), and I'm not saying that you are not important based on support within the mission itself.

Compared to the Navy, things are a bit different with the Army. Yes the stigma is there, but the support and capability of all (command, SMs, Medical, etc.) were very helpful and were able to provide capability throughout the spectrum within the command.
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