2018 Cesarean Awareness Month T-Shirt Sale!
The newest t-shirt in ICAN’s awareness line is available now! Purchases can be made through March 23rd here. Available in two colors – graphite heather and ICAN garnet – proceeds will help support ICAN’s mission to improve maternal-child health by reducing preventable cesareans through education, supporting cesarean recovery, and advocating for vaginal birth after cesarean […]
Birth Grief
Guest post submitted by Natalie Short of ICAN of Birmingham, AL. Sadness, anger, disappointment, anxiety – sometimes our emotions postpartum are unexpectedly heavy. A lot more has been written in recent times about the legitimacy of birth grief and birth trauma, and, increasingly, women dealing with these emotions postpartum don’t have to suffer alone. But […]
ACOG’s New Labor Guidelines Fall in Step with ICAN’s Mission
ACOG’s New Labor Guidelines Fall in Step with ICAN’s Mission New, Breakthrough Guidelines Pave Way for Safer Labor and Birth Release Highlights: New study shows that labor takes longer than previously believed, and it is safer in most cases for a woman to labor longer than for providers to push for cesarean birth. The emphasis […]
Was the art of independence lost in the shuffle? Or forced out in labor and delivery rooms?
By Jennifer Antonik Our daughter is in that lovely stage of life where everything has to be a struggle or it isn’t worth her time it seems. She’ll be three soon. (I can see many of you emphatically nodding your heads in empathetic understanding.) Truly, I love that age though. It’s magical. She is quite […]
New Survey Shows High Success Rate for VBAC’s at Home
by Karen Troy, PhD The Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) recently published data from a large and well-tracked series of planned home births, the result of a home birth registry program that was initiated in 2004 (1). The data set included nearly 17,000 planned home births attended by a mix of midwives including CPMs […]
Failure to Progress in Labor
Many women that are told they need a cesarean for “failure to progress” may not realize that the doctor is likely looking at their labor and dilation and comparing it to research called Friedman’s Curve. This research was completed with 500 women more than 60 years ago. A woman may be told that her doctor […]
Can Inducing Labor Lead to Cesarean?
A labor induction uses medication, like Pitocin, or other techniques to bring on (induce) contractions in a pregnant woman. Induction occurs in more than 23% of births (Census.gov) in the United States every year. That is, one in five women will have their labor induced. Studies show that there is increased risk for cesarean as […]
Eric is Born: Our Peaceful, Extraordinary VBAC-Homebirth-Waterbirth
Wednesday, January 18, 10:30 p.m. The boys were dreaming peacefully in their bedroom. Tim lay beside me, his breath quiet and even with the pace of an already deep sleep. ContractionMaster.com was opened up on the phone in front of me. (And yes, a Chipotle burrito was digesting inside of me. OF COURSE labor began […]
In Conversation with Rebecca Dekker
Who: ICAN members What: A discussion with Rebecca Dekker around cesareans and cesarean prevention Where: Online Video and Voice When: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 Register: Email speakerhost (at) ican-online (dot) org to receive an email with the link and password to join the conversation. Join this Online Event September 17th, 2013 at 5pm PST/7pm CT. […]
Ever Wonder About the Cesarean Rate for a Hospital Near You?
When I was pregnant with my first child, I did very little research. I mean, people have babies every day, right? My mom birthed all of her children naturally, so I just assumed that all I had to do was pack a bag and show up. But, being true to my type A personality, I […]
Help support ICAN
18 months ago I delivered our first child, a healthy boy named Vance, by cesarean section. It was a completely unplanned emergency surgery that was far from the natural birth my husband and I had hoped and planned for. My birth experience left me feeling broken and heavy hearted; emotions that were in complete […]
Who can benefit from ICAN?
After a recent discussion with a group of women, I had two of them tell me that they didn’t think they would benefit from anything that had to do with ICAN. One believed ICAN was only for those who had a cesarean due to crazy circumstances and were upset about it and the other thought […]
