{"id":8053,"date":"2024-10-19T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8053"},"modified":"2024-10-19T20:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-19T20:30:00","slug":"baby-shower-a-celebration-of-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8053","title":{"rendered":"Baby shower a celebration of strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2024-10-19T20:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Army Veteran Samantha Hoving (pictured above) was one of 49 women Veterans showered with love, gifts and support at Houston VA\u2019s ninth annual Veteran baby shower in early October.\u00a0Hoving, pregnant with baby number five, was thrilled to participate in the event.<\/p>\n

The baby shower was aimed at honoring women Veteran mothers-to-be in their third trimester by offering them essential newborn item donations and various VA and community resources. The event included lots of laughter, fun, refreshments and games.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mom of four, soon to be five kiddos, I never thought I would have something like this for this baby. VA made this pregnancy feel like it\u2019s just as special as me having my first, which it truly is.\u00a0I left the shower feeling so extremely blessed and thankful,\u201d Hoving said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA pleasure to support them in the new challenges of motherhood.\u201d<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/a>
Baby shower gifts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt was our pleasure to celebrate not only the upcoming arrivals of these new babies but also the incredible strength and resilience of these women who served our country,\u201d said Shelita Magee, Civic Engagement Department, who coordinated the shower.\u00a0\u201cIt is truly our pleasure to give back to our women Veterans and support them as they navigate the new challenges of motherhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael E. DeBakey VA<\/a> in Houston cares for more than 131,000 Veterans and continues to grow in number of patients.\u00a0The medical center has created numerous programs and services tailored for women Veterans which are the fastest growing population of Veterans registering for health care at the medical center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe average age of our women Veteran patients is 41 compared to the average age of male Veteran patients which is 65,\u201d said Dr. Deleene Menefee, Women Veterans Program manager. \u201cWe have expanded our services enormously and come a long way in serving women Veterans. Our VA has worked hard to create a culture that celebrates women Veterans and all of their unique experiences like childbirth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Numerous members of the community and Veteran supporters donated baby presents and other gifts for the baby shower attendees who also learned infant CPR and received valuable information about safe sleep practices, breastfeeding and more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal was to make the baby shower a day of joy, connection and empowerment,\u201d Magee said. \u201cIt was great to see the Veterans getting to know each other and celebrating with other mothers who share that military bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Army Veteran Samantha Hoving was one of 49 women Veterans at Houston VA\u2019s ninth annual Veteran baby shower.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBaby shower a celebration of strength - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Army Veteran Samantha Hoving was one of 49 women Veterans at Houston VA\u2019s ninth annual Veteran baby shower.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8053\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Baby shower a celebration of strength - 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