Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD) are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, impaired maternal-infant bonding, and an increase of risky behaviors during pregnancy (e.g., substance use, avoiding prenatal care). Female service members and veterans (FSMAVs), defined as women who are currently or who have previously served in the U.S. Armed Forces, suffer from significantly higher rates of PMAD when compared to the civilian population. FSMAVs have a greater risk than civilian women to have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or moral injury, both of which are predictors for PMAD. They are also more likely to manifest their symptoms in what is considered an atypical manner for their gender. At this time, the most widely used perinatal mental health screening tool, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), has not been validated in this population, nor do screening guidelines recommend screening FSMAVs for PTSD, moral injury or PMAD beyond depression and anxiety symptoms. In this context, exploring how FSMAVs describe their experiences with pregnancy and perinatal mental health will help inform whether the current screening tools and guidelines are adequate to appropriately identify those who would benefit from mental health interventions. This dissertation research: 1) assesses the perinatal health risks associated with military service (Chapter 2); 2) investigates correlations between common screening tools used to assess perinatal patients and explore service-related variables (e.g. rank, branch of service) and their relationships to test scores (Chapter 3); 3) explores the language used by FSMAVs to describe their pregnancy and perinatal mental health experiences and where these descriptions converge with or diverge from the EPDS (Chapter 4). In Chapter 3, a convergent mixed method (Quan + QUAL) that utilizes an observational, retrospective cohort for the quantitative thread and semi-structured interviews with thematic analysis for the qualitative thread is proposed to assess the aforementioned research goals. Results from this study will a) inform future research in an underdeveloped area of study; b) provide additional evidence for modifying screening guidelines and c) suggest modifying screening guidelines to include additional baseline assessments for the perinatal FSMAV population.