"New mothers serving in our military face a unique recovery situation in the first year after childbirth, especially in this time of extended deployments," said Snowe and Collins. "Many continue to serve actively while still physically recovering from pregnancy and the physical trauma of giving birth. Others have a spouse who is deployed and face the months of recovery alone while working and caring for their new infant. It is incumbent upon us to respond to the unique needs of military women and ensure they receive proper care during the first year following childbirth."
Senators Snowe and Collins urged other Members of the Senate to join them in supporting the proposed Pregnancy Recovery Education Program. They asked the leaders of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to fund and the Armed Services Committee to authorize $2 million for the initiative. This program would develop educational materials to assist new mothers focusing on caring for a new child, while also managing their own health and physical recovery and continuing their military careers and/or living apart from a spouse who is deployed.
"We believe that this investment will go a long way towards improving the health of our nation's families," continued Senators Snowe and Collins. "A successful Pregnancy Recovery Education Program for military women could be translated into medical programs that service the general female population and would benefit women throughout the United States."
This program is supported by several prominent physicians, including Dr. Robert McAfee, retired M.D. and past president of the American Medical Association, and Dr. Hector Tarraza, M.D., a gynecologic oncologist at Maine Medical Center in Portland and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians-Gynecologists.
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