Goodbyes are always hard when you live in a military town. The moment you meet someone you click with; it seems that friendship is only momentary before you or they are on the move again. “Build your village” is what you’re told to do but, for a military family, the theme is more like “Rebuild your village…again.”
It can be lonely when you live away from family and loved ones. We certainly understand that well. As a retired military family, we have chosen to call Fayetteville/Fort Bragg, NC our home for years. But our children’s grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins live over 700 miles in two separate directions on the map. It’s a luxury to see them more than a couple times a year. It downright breaks my heart every time I have to explain to my crying 4-year-old that their grandmother or aunt has to leave after spending a few days visiting. Then there’s the next day when they wake up asking for them again.
And then the deployments. It’s part of the sacrifice that military families make when serving this country and protecting our freedom. But what people don’t always see behind this sacrifice are the months that pass by with a military spouse facing pregnancy on their own and away from the support of family. Deployments that don’t guarantee that both parents are present at the birth of their first child. And then there’s the prospect of missing yet another birth.
This is a common theme many families face every day in this town. We understand. We really do. All of our doulas at Aida Algarin Birth Services are military spouses (whether married to veterans or active duty soldiers). We understand the support all families need when facing the unknowns of pregnancy and childbirth. We understand how to be there to help step in and be by your side when family cannot. We understand how hiring a doula early on in your pregnancy can bring a sense of relief that you won’t be alone in case your husband hasn’t returned in time from deployment. We also understand the value of a postpartum doula helping you after baby # 3 is born and giving you the break you need when you’re the solo parent holding the house together during a long deployment.
You don’t have to be alone in this transition into motherhood. Not in pregnancy, not in childbirth, and not in the postpartum weeks. Whether it’s helping you navigate around your options in childbirth or just needing a gentle shoulder to lean on, you can count on us to support you.
Contact us today to learn how we can be a part of your support team.
