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April is - Cesarean Awareness Month
- #CesareanAwarenessMonth
- #YouHaveOptions
- #ICANadvocate
CAM 2025 Webinar Recordings
CAM 2025 Webinar Recordings
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1:03:27
1:07:41
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What is Cesarean Awareness Month?
- April is Cesarean Awareness Month (CAM)!
- CAM focuses on all topics surrounding cesareans, including reducing preventable cesareans, supporting cesarean recovery, and advocating for vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).
- ICAN was founded in 1982 as a grassroots movement to serve these needs.
- We need your help to grow Cesarean Awareness! Download and share the info-graphics, start a fundraiser, spread the word!
Cesareans…
Why the Need For Awareness
- Researchers estimate that almost half of the cesareans performed could be safely prevented.
- If families don’t know they have other options, they cannot advocate for themselves.
- Cesareans can be “family friendly” depending on facility practices and protocols and provider support.
- Preventable cesareans may be responsible for up to 20,000 major surgical complications a year, including sepsis, hemorrhage, and organ injury.
- Future risks to birthing people and their future pregnancies and children are often not mentioned.
Call to Action
- Stay tuned to our social media channels during the month of April. Share!
- Check out your local ICAN chapter or consider starting one!
- Join as a member for special access to webinars and more.
- Donate to ICAN.
Key Messages
- Lowering the rate of preventable cesareans is vital to improving maternal-child health.
- Policies do not override a persons’ right to informed decision making.
- VBAC bans are unethical and unenforceable for hospitals to institute. People have the right to informed refusal, which includes declining a cesarean.
- For most people, VBAC carries lower risks than a repeat cesarean.
- A healthy birth incorporates emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.
- When a cesarean is necessary, it can be a lifesaving technique, and worth the risks involved.