Call for birth stories!
- Published: 20 December 2018 20 December 2018
If you've given birth in the Greater DC Metro Area, including MD, DC, VA and beyond, we'd like to publish your birth story on our website! Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your written story, along with any pictures you're comfortable sharing, and we'll get it posted and shared with our members. Birth stories are a powerful way to connect and learn from others' experiences. Birth as represented in pop culture is so far from what actually happens, that your story will help women learn and experience second-hand the wide range of what it's like to give birth in our area.
Thanks for your support!
February is CBAC Awareness Month
- Published: 10 February 2018 10 February 2018
A CBAC (Cesarean Birth After Cesarean) occurs when a mother has a cesarean after working towards a VBAC. February is a month to honor those women and their experiences and emotions.
ICAN National has created a website specifically for CBAC support to help address the emotional aspect, physical healing, and the question of future VBACs.
Please know that all birth experiences and stories are welcome at our meetings. Through sharing and mutual respect we can support each other on our journeys.
Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.
- Helen Keller
CAM 2018 T-Shirt Design Contest
- Published: 02 January 2018 02 January 2018
Every year ICAN National sells a t-shirt as a part fundraiser/part awareness initiative. This year they are asking for members to submit potential designs!
Blood Drives & Discounts for Cesarean Awareness Month 2016
- Published: 01 April 2016 01 April 2016
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!
Read more: Blood Drives & Discounts for Cesarean Awareness Month 2016
ICAN and Hope for Accreta Host Blood Drive
- Published: 20 October 2015 20 October 2015
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.
