ICAN and Hope for Accreta Host Blood Drive
On Saturday, October 3, ICAN of Northern Virginia and Hope for Accreta, Northern Virginia Chapter, hosted an Inova Blood Donor Services blood drive to honor mothers who need blood after giving birth, raise awareness of placenta accreta and promote cesarean awareness.
We extend a warm thank you to all of those who took the time to attend the blood drive to donate blood and/or volunteer. We collected 44 units of blood products – which could potentially save 132 lives, some of which could be mothers like us who need blood after childbirth.
ICAN Names Lisa Keyser the June 2015 Volunteer of the Month
ICAN of Northern Virginia's Co-Leader, Lisa Keyser, was named Volunteer of the Month by ICAN National. Congratulations to Lisa on her hard work! The article is available in full on ICAN's blog, and has been posted below as well.
The International Cesarean Awareness Network is powered by the selfless efforts of our numerous volunteers. We cannot thank our dedicated volunteers enough for their cooperation and service in assisting ICAN with accomplishing its mission.In an effort to acknowledge some of our amazing volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to offer support, education, and advocacy for the mothers in their area, the International Cesarean Awareness Network is pleased to announce Lisa Keyser as the June 2015 Volunteer of the Month.
Lisa Keyser, this month’s honoree, is a chapter leader with ICAN of Northern Virginia. During her time with ICAN of Northern Virginia, Lisa has helped to expand the reach of her chapter exponentially, helping to fulfill the need for access to support and information on VBAC options in her area.
Read more: ICAN Names Lisa Keyser the June 2015 Volunteer of the Month
Cesarean Awareness Month 2015
April is here, and with it warmer weather and beautiful flowers in the Northern Virginia area! Every April, ICAN celebrates Cesarean Awareness Month to bring awareness to our mission and vision, which is:
- Mission Statement
The International Cesarean Awareness Network, Inc. (ICAN) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery, and promoting Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). - Vision Statement
A reduction in the cesarean rate driven by women assuming responsibility for their healthcare by making evidence-based, risk appropriate childbirth decisions.
You can read the full statement of beliefs on ICAN's website.
In our local area, we are still dealing with a higher-than-average c-section rate, and lower-than-average VBAC rate. Providers that will support VBACs from beginning to end are a rarity, and even rarer are those who support VBAmC. We have a lot of work to do to change the birth climate, and we'd love your help!
How can I help?
Free Webinars During Cesarean Awareness Month
In honor of Cesarean Awareness Month, ICAN will be offering FREE access to our educational webinars for all participants throughout the month of April!
Join us from the comfort of your home online!
ICAN is offering the following webinars in multiple viewings throughout the month, just click on the link and time that works for you to register for the presentation.
Want continued access all year long? Take advantage of our Cesarean Awareness Month Subscription specials and join today!
New Survey Shows High Success Rate for VBAC’s at Home
This excerpt is from ICAN, posted February 28, 2014. See the full article here.
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 (79%), CNMs (15%), and other unlicensed midwives. Within this cohort were 1054 women with a history of cesarean section who were planning a vaginal birth after cesarean – VBAC – at home. (This is also referred to within the birth community as "HBAC" – home birth after cesarean). Within this subgroup, 87% had successful vaginal births, with 94% of those births occurring at home and the remaining 6% occurring after a transfer to a local hospital. This success rate is substantially higher than the 60-80% success rate reported across other large hospital-based cohorts (2) and likely reflects the high level of commitment to and support of natural birth, both from the mothers and their care providers.