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Salute the baby brigade

Jul-11-2005 » Filed Under: Homefront

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MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune

They haven’t come up with a catchy nickname for it, like “Operation Desert Stork,” but there’s a baby boom on the way at Madigan Army Medical Center.
The hospital is preparing for a 20 percent increase in the number of births – 25 to 30 more babies over the monthly average of 148.

They expect the increase to begin next month and to last at least through November, said Lt. Col. Wendy Ma, an Army doctor and chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Madigan.

Officials haven’t examined the pending population explosion to pinpoint exactly where all the babies are coming from. But they assume at least some are the result of many happy reunions when several Fort Lewis units returned home last fall from Iraq. [...]

The numbers at Madigan suggest that it’s not just the homecomings that lead to more babies, but the anticipation of a long deployment, as well.

They had 182 births there in October 2003 – more than any month since 2000 – which suggests many couples were conceiving in January and February of that year, when the U.S. was preparing for war in Iraq.

August and September of 2002 also were busy birthing months – 176, and 168, respectively – suggesting a similar response by Fort Lewis couples to the prospect of extended U.S. military operations after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist strikes.

These days at Madigan, the labor and delivery floor does all it can to make the process as comfortable and family-centered as possible, said Kathleen Judge, the nurse-manager there.

The new rooms feature warm wood floors and cabinetry, with all the medical items out-of-sight behind cupboard doors. There are flat-screen TVs, stereos, spacious walk-in showers, and big, comfortable chairs that fold out so fathers – or older brothers and sisters – can sack out if the new arrival takes his or her time in coming. [...]


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