When 28-year-old Navy veteran Carisma Carter pulled her car up to the front of the Atlanta VA Clinic, her seat was pushed far back from the steering wheel to make room for her big belly. Carter was 8 months pregnant.
“I’m having two boys, twins. It’s my first pregnancy,” she said.
Carter knows the pregnancy risks she could face as a Black woman, especially in Georgia, where data shows Black women are more than twice as likely as white women to die during or within a year after a pregnancy.
“I take care of my body during the pregnancy, but, yeah, I’m very aware,” Carter said. “And I just try to stay positive.”
In 2021, women made up about 17% of the U.S. military’s active-duty force. And women are the fastest-growing group of veterans in the country, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A recent report from Rand Corp. outlines some of the ways the health needs of women differ from men’s, including pregnancy and childbirth. And health researchers have said women veterans may be at heightened risk for pregnancy complications, compared with their civilian counterparts.
A few years ago, the Atlanta VA Clinic got creative with its outreach to pregnant patients. It began throwing surprise baby showers for small groups of patients. The goal is to cement relationships with the clinical staff, make sure pregnant veterans get to all their regular and specialist appointments, and help ensure pregnant people have the supplies they need as they near delivery. A trained maternity care coordinator manages each pregnant veteran’s care.
After the covid-19 pandemic emerged, the VA transformed the showers into low-contact “drive-thru” events, which occur about every three months, and serve roughly 20 pregnant veterans each time.
At a shower in February, volunteers set up in front of the main entrance of the Atlanta VA. The building is concrete, beige, and bland. But the volunteers created a celebratory atmosphere by decorating a folding table and stacking it high with free diaper bags and other baby supplies.
A car pulled up to the table and a volunteer with a clipboard began hyping up the small crowd, which then burst into applause and cheers.
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