Thursday, February 19, 2009

ICAN makes Time Magazine!

This has been under lock and key, but I am proud to be able to announce and actually get it off my check that The International Cesarean Awareness Network has a wonderful spread in TIME MAGAZINE this issue!!!!!!
We (the women of ICAN) worked very diligently over the past couple weeks making sure every last hospital in the entire United States that offered maternity services was called and polled about their VBAC policies!
ICAN of Connecticut was able to call hospitals in Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma.
Please read, pass along, comment on, and enjoy the article!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

CAM 2009

We are in the home stretch right now before Cesarean Awareness Month here in Connecticut.
Last year our governor denied our request for a proclamation for Cesarean Awareness Month, well this year we are not only requesting our proclamation again, but we are also submitting it with a petition!
We are nearing 200 signatures, so please take a couple minutes and sign it to help out Connecticut moms!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/CAM2009/index.html

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

CAM


Last April I started The International Cesarean Awareness Network of Connecticut (www.icanofconnecticut.webs.com) because of the birth experience I had with my son. I found out that Connecticut has a VERY high c-section rate, of 34.1% (as of 2006) which is the most recently released statistic from the CDC. (CDC.gov)
That puts Connecticut at the 7th highest c-section rate in the nation, higher than both California, and New York, who in some cases are infamous for their "designer births".

Every April across The United States, The International Cesarean Awareness Network celebrates Cesarean Awareness Month. It is important to us, and should be more important to our communities, especially Connecticut with such an alarming Cesarean rate.

(The WHO *World Health Org* recommends a SAFE cesarean rate for the USA to be between 10-15%)

So last April, I, as leader of ICAN of Connecticut sent a proclamation to Governor Jodi Rell's office to have Cesarean Awareness Month recognized across the state. After waiting 3+ weeks for a response, and calling the governors office, I found out that our proclamation was denied because the Governors office felt as though the issue of Cesarean Awareness and more maternity care education in our state was too controversial of an issue for the Governor to be involved with.

Too controversial? Education in health care is too controversial? The safety of women and babies across the state is too controversial?
But issues like Plan B being available for OTC sales, and civil unions, are not too controversial for our governor to be involved with. Hmmmm? Something stinks!

After much research, and meeting with Congressman Christopher Shays, I was given some medicaid statistics. (For those who are not aware of what medicaid is, it is state funded health insurance, meaning free, that the tax payers are paying for) and out of all the c-sections taking place across the nation, our government is paying for a whopping 41% of those! But educating our women on c-sections and helping to learn how to prevent them is too controversial of an issue.

We are fighting for a signature on our proclamation this April 2009 to help educate women across the state and bring light to this growing maternity care crisis.
Please help support ICAN and sign our Cesarean Awareness Month petition!
Lets make our voices heard across the state!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/CAM2009/index.html