ICAN, You Can, We All Can!

I hope you all had a good Walt Whitman Day yesterday. It was quite exhilarating. I was so busy celebrating throughout the night into the early morning that I did not have any time to post. Hopefully you were so busy celebrating that you forgot to check my blog and didn't miss me.

Anyway, today I want to talk about what Mom and I did on Monday. We always have adventures in the mornings when the girls are at school. Usually they involve going home and me taking a nap while Mom does something else (also take a nap). Sometimes it's grocery shopping, a nice leisurely stroll through the hood, or shopping for things other than groceries. Monday we went to a meeting for ICAN, the International Cesarean Awareness Network. According to its mission statement, ICAN is "a non-profit 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)." As you all probably know, Mom had a cesarean with Liana because Liana was as stubborn then as she is now. Also, she got talked into a lot of interventions during labor without understanding the full effect those interventions can have on the natural labor process. At one point she was on so much pitocin that circus animals would have used less.  We are talking elephants loyal readers.  This is a whole lot of pitocin. Did you know that 30% of births in the United States are done by cesarean? That number is too high, and that is why ICAN is so important.

So, at the meetings, moms talk about their cesarean experiences. Some of them are horrible. Mom's was a cakewalk compared to some of these stories. The moms also offer support for pregnant moms who are hoping for a VBAC. It sounds like a lot of doctors and insurance companies are afraid of VBACs, so it can be very difficult for moms to have one. Some hospitals even ban VBACs. It doesn't make sense because, for most women, VBAC is a safe option. It's not like a cesarean is risk-free--it's major abdominal surgery. But people act like it's so safe because it's so common.

Mom had VBACs with Gillian and me. She wants to make sure that anyone who wants a natural birth can have it and that no one has to have a cesarean who doesn't really need it. As she says, her cesarean was necessary at the time, but had she been more educated, it probably wouldn't have had to happen. So, check out ICAN online, read some birth stories, get some education, and maybe you too can help prevent unnecessary cesareans.

I had fun at the meeting because there were lots of kids there, and only one of them was a girl, so I didn't have to feel outnumbered. Plus, I was the cutest one.

This is how you know it's time to lower the crib mattress.