Want to lower your chances for a cesarean?
The International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) is pleased to announce a new online webinar! The ICAN Birth Class: Cesarean Prevention is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23rd at 10 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. PDT).
This webinar is perfect for the mom expecting her first baby, or for the mom who is planning a VBAC.
The $20 fee for the class goes directly to support ICAN's mission of promoting maternal-child health, providing emotional and physical support for women who have had cesareans, preventing unnecessary cesareans, and promoting Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). ICAN has 110 chapters in North America and Europe, which hold educational and support meetings for people interested in cesarean prevention and recovery. It is also active in advocacy for childbirth issues nationally and internationally.
Remember, women in the USA have about a 1 in 3 chance in having their childbirth end surgically; for "obese" women, in many places, the chances are more like 1 in 2.....or higher.
Taking a webinar can't guarantee you won't have a cesarean, but it can certainly help raise your awareness of the factors that commonly lead to unnecessary cesareans.
That way, hopefully we can keep cesareans reserved for the cases in which they are truly necessary, and avoid exposing women and babies to the risks of surgery when it's not really needed.
[Potential risks to babies from cesareans include: low birth weight, prematurity, respiratory problems, and lacerations. Potential risks to women include: hemorrhage, infection, hysterectomy, surgical mistakes, re-hospitalization, dangerous placental abnormalities in future pregnancies, unexplained stillbirth in future pregnancies and increased percentage of maternal death.]
You can find out more about the ICAN Birth Class: Cesarean Prevention here:
http://ican-online.org/none/ican-birth-class-cesarean-prevention
Attendees may register here:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/999201490
*Don't worry, I'm still working on my post about prenatal weight gain and women of size! Almost there! Just wanted to get the word out on this cesarean prevention class so interested folk have plenty of time to register.
Hi-well rounded.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if you caught the documentary on "morbidly obese" women and pregnancy on the discovery channel's baby week.
While I felt intense empathy and sisterhood with the women-I was very turned off by the fear mongering in the series.
As an athletic (yes athletic) 300 pound woman who has begun to practice HAES I was extremely turned off by the voice over woman who repeatedly said things like carrying their bodies is like carrying "70 gallons of milk" or carting 800 bricks or whatever. NO IT IS NOT, I began to scream towards the middle.
The woman with no complications (she lost weight, had no gestational diabetes and perfect blood pressure) was given the least screen time-until (surprise, surprise) she was given a C-section because THEIR induction failed.
As someone who wants to get pregnant I was encouraged by these pregnant large women but disgusted by the slant of the documentary.
Yet, my hubby and I noted that the doctors were surprisingly direct and supportive.
I am curious to hear more about your hernia repair surgery between babies. I had a cesarean for a breech baby in 10/07 and in the last month I've discovered an abdominal hernia. I am very worried that hernia repair will be a "red dot" on my file when it comes to trying for a VBAC. I haven't found much on the web about it (except a few scary things here and there, or about women who feel pushed into their second or third cesarean).
ReplyDeleteI really, really do not want to have another cesarean. How did it all work out for you? Do you live in a VBAC friendly area?