European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 5, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse A amps Michael Abram or. Capt Michael Barber on the Boom at in Ciurlik a we kind of expected it would a amps Michael Abrams Claire Hunter a Well its been a Long a amps Michael Abrams incur like a birthing coach Tammy Mitchell. From Page 4 wanted to a Check out the Hospital facilities before becoming pregnant. She was evidently satisfied because she said a i got pregnant right Tammy Mitchell who taught the february childbirth classes said she counted the Days hours and minutes until she was reunited in june with her husband capt Tom Mitchell the bases fuels officer. However already the parents of five children Ages three through 13, the Mitchells a put the Romance on hold a she said. A i did no to want to get pregnant a she said. A so it was kind of like a platonic a i How Are you a a she said laughing. A we let the kids rebuild their relationship with their dad then Tom and i went to Israel and had our Little Tammy Mitchell regarded the baby Boom a about 20 in Ciurlik babies in february alone a As the Hospital normally delivers 13 to 14 babies per month including those from other bases. A i love seeing All these pregnant women a she said of mothers to be who were attending her classes. A i wonder How they Are finding maternity clothes and baby stuff at the by though. Its kind of tight pregnant pause at in Ciurlik Turkey when Tammy Mitchell signed up to teach childbirth classes for babies due in february she never dreamed the class would be twice its Normal size. A it was the largest class in be had in the year and a half that in be been teaching a the Volunteer childbirth educator said. A i average four or five but had 10 couples in that particular class and they were All from in Ciurlik. Usually if i have seven or eight ill have three or four from different places in the 10 couples in Mitchells class were just a Small sampling of couples expecting Little people to take their first peek at the world Between february and May at in Ciurlik a Turkey. In Ciurlik from where family members were evacuated Between january and april 1091 because of the persian Gulf War is experiencing a dramatic surge in local births. A we kind of expected it would happen a or. Capt Michael Barber said in february. A most of them were gone about four to five months. We arc about nine months from or. Maj Glenn d. Gianini called the 20 babies expected in february a a Small baby in comparison to last year Quot its a tremendous there were Only 82 babies born there last year. In comparison to annual figures for in Ciurlik residents a a it a a 30 to 40 percent increase Quot said Gianini who on Valentines Day had delivered three babies in the last 24 hours. Nine babies had made february debuts by mid month. The Hospital the Only american Hospital in Turkey averages 13-14 births per month including newborns of parents assigned to other bases in Turkey. With Gianinio a july arrival the hospitals obstetrical and gynaecological staff doubled to two doctors he said which allows them to do More baby business. Although the surge in tots is significant Hospital officials say the biggest increase has been in positive pregnancy tests for local women. On Valentines Day tech. Sgt. Claire Hunter the non commissioned officer in charge of of gyn said there were More than 100 expectant mothers registered a All from in Ciurlik. A a you be heard people say its been a cold Winter. Well its been a Long War a Hunter said. A where wed done five pregnancy tests weekly we started doing 10-12,�?� she said. Previously Quot if we did five maybe three were positive. Now if we do 10, nine Are positive. A at last count we had 115 women anywhere from six to 40 weeks pregnant. Our population is not that base population is about 6,500, including the More than 2,100 Active duty service members and about 900 school age children. Hunter pleased with the growing a Boom Quot was convinced it would Quot get bigger. Its great a she said. A i was glad we were Able to open the department again. Id missed it. Its Good to have the families Back. It was like we were missing some concern had been voiced Over so called Assembly line treatment at military hospitals. But the Nims to by said they saw no evidence of such allegations. Whitney Schlansky who delivered in february said concerns were understandable Quot with so Many people expecting but added Quot they have done a Good Job of balancing the Short staff and the number of expectant Dawn Van Hocson added a a it a not Assembly line care. The nurses arc really great. They talk you through it whether its your first baby or your 10th. They re Here for Van Hocson gave birth to a boy March 14. Gianini said the two delivery rooms and a capability to do caesarean Section deliveries in the operating room had been sufficient to accommodate All the new births. Generally mom and baby arc hospitalized for 48 hours he said. A a it a a Nice Little group practice a said the obstetrician who has three children of his own. A we want More excited about a new Hospital that s near completion Barber added a both of us love what we do. We re hoping Well eventually get up to 20 or 30 deliveries a Mitchells six week childbirth classes cover la Mac and Bradley breathing techniques and general education about the childbirth process. Mitchell the Mother of five said she loves teaching the classes. A a it a Nice to see them relax about the whole thing a which is not the Case initially she said. A when they first come in they arc All tense and nervous and especially the men during talk about women things. Wives have to drag them in. But after a couple of weeks they re dragging the wives Pat Garcia said her husband Ricardo had been one of the squeamish ones. A my husband was a nervous wreck a she said. A we would go to the classes and since he works Here at the Hospital pharmacy he would come up with an excuse to walk out of laughing she added a especially during the childbirth Mitchell said her primary goal was to help expect continued in Page 6 april 5, 1992 sunday a Page 5
