SHOWERED WITH PRESENTS
Volunteers chat at a drive-thru baby shower for expectant veterans.
Army veteran Kayla Edwards drove her car up to the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System Saturday wearing a black T-shirt that had #momlife printed on it, with two gold handprints across her pregnant belly, to pick up a bin stuffed with diapers, blankets, toys and pacifiers.
Edwards is due to give birth to her first-born son, Liam, in April. She said Saturday’s drive-thru event for veterans, organized by the Women Veteran’s Program in Phoenix, was the only baby shower she’s had for her son and is needed for veterans.
“Having people that actually support us and want to celebrate this moment with us, is very amazing, because they didn’t have to take time out of their day and have this drive-thru baby shower,” Edwards said. “I’m very, very happy.”
Edwards, 27, was one of about 20 expectant and new veteran mothers to pick up a supply bin and pampering gift bag from the Phoenix VA campus.
The Phoenix VA has been donating supplies to expectant veterans for 12 years, said Kristen Nordquist, the Women Veteran’s Program manager.
Usually, veterans receive a bin at a monthly educational course, but since the pandemic, they have resorted to drive-thru events every quarter and mailing educational packets to the mothers.
The first drive-thru event was held in December.
Women veterans say support from Phoenix VA is appreciated
Expectant and new veteran mothers at the event said they were grateful for the Women Veteran’s Group and the drive-thru event, especially since there is no maternity ward at the VA.
“They treat us like we’re actually special, like we’re actually really part of our veteran community, and for them to host events like this, it’s amazing,” Edwards said.
Over the past five years, women veterans at the Phoenix VA has increased by 35% compared to a 15% increase of men veterans, Nordquist said.
Women make up 10% of the veteran population.
“It is important for us to provide these services for them because one, we want them to know we care, two, a lot of our veterans just like the rest of the public are going through times of hardship,” said Pat Balcazar-Mendoza, maternity care coordinator at the Phoenix VA. “A little bit that we can give to them — it means a lot.”
Quiaira Walker, who served in the Army Reserves, brought her 1-monthold daughter with her to pick up the bin and gift bag from the campus. She said she’s appreciative of any items she can get for her baby.
“It lets me know that although the VA does not have a maternity ward, that they still care about their veteran parents, their veterans’ mothers, I love that,” Walker said.
Coordinator: Veterans not always aware of maternity benefits
Balcazar-Mendoza said the number of pregnant veterans at the Phoenix VA has increased steadily over the last several years, similar to the growth of women veterans served overall.
From 2019 to 2020, pregnant veterans increased from 154 pregnancies to 173, Balcazar-Mendoza said. Since January, there have been 36 pregnancies.
Balcazar-Mendoza said many women veterans, including staff at the VA, aren’t aware there is a maternity care coordinator in the Phoenix area.
“Sometimes, when they leave the services, they get so bombarded with all that information that sometimes they tend to forget that there’s maternity benefits for all of our (female) veterans,” she said.
The VA covers pregnancy care through community providers and pays for prenatal care, delivery, and postnatal care for eligible women Veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some Phoenix veterans got sick from COVID-19 during their pregnancies and
one veteran died from the virus after she gave birth, according to Nordquist.
“Unfortunately, that is one of the difficulties of this pandemic, but throughout we’ve been able to maintain communication with our maternity patients,” she said.
Balcazar-Mendoza checks in with expecting veterans every six weeks to offer education and support, she said. The VA also provides breast-feeding mothers with educational classes and a maternity care kit with items like breast pumps, she said.
As cars continued rolling into the Phoenix baby shower drive-thru event, volunteers rushed to the car window to ask veterans: “Boy or girl?”
After learning Suzanne Tuanaki gave birth to her son six weeks ago, volunteers grabbed a bin with $300 worth of items for a baby boy and slid it into the trunk of her SUV.
Tuanaki, a Navy Seabee veteran, said she appreciates the small details of the basket.
“It’s a big help,” she said. “The homemade blankets are always a nice touch, so we appreciate all the volunteers that put their love into this.”
More information about resources for veteran mothers or expectant veterans can be found on the women veterans’ page on the Phoenix VA website or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website.
“It is important for us to provide these services for them because one, we want them to know we care.”
Pat Balcazar-Mendoza
Maternity care coordinator at the Phoenix VA