ICAN of Greater Missoula

International Cesarean Awareness Network ~ Missoula & Surrounding Areas

Monthly Meetings

		(This is a sticky post, please find current news items below) By Kimberly James in General

Join ICAN of Greater Missoula for monthly meetings.  The bulk of ICAN's mission is accomplished through regular meetings - support, education, and advocacy.  We are comprised of concerned citizens, mothers, daughters, partners, neighbors, care providers, and other interested parties brought together by a common cause - to advocate for evidence-based and caring maternal-child support in our community.

THIRD SUNDAYS
7:30 ~ 9:00 pm
Liquid Planet

23 N Higgins Ave
Missoula, MT 59802

*Double check the website as meeting details are subject to change

Please note that although childcare is not provided, families are more than welcome to attend.

 Sunday, November 16 - ICAN "Mixer" (new informal format, new date, new location!)

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APRIL IS CESAREAN AWARENESS MONTH! 

Thank you for helping us spread awareness about the risks and benefits of cesarean surgery.  Certainly a cesarean is a blessing when it is necessary, but many women across the country are undergoing unnecessary abdominal surgery.

Did you know that ICAN of Greater Missoula & ICAN of Helena asked Governor Schweitzer for a statement of support for Cesarean Awareness Month, and he declined?   More information to follow shortly.

Midwifery Organization MEAC Needs Financial Help

		Saturday, 15 November 08 - 09:48 AM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

October 2008

Dear Friend of the Allied Midwifery Organizations,

MEAC is the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council. MEAC promotes excellence in midwifery education by supporting and accrediting midwifery schools around the country that prepare midwives for national certification as CPMs. MEAC is doing exciting, groundbreaking, and vital work for our midwifery movement. Just this month, the Milbank Memorial Fund, a non-partisan institute devoted to health policy analysis, issued a new report titled, “Evidence-Based Maternity Care: What It Is and What It Can Achieve”. The report cites data from the landmark study of CPMs published in 2005 and concludes:

        The low CPM rates of intervention are benchmarks for what the majority of childbearing women and babies who are in good health might achieve.

MEAC currently accredits eight free-standing institutions and two programs that reside within universities, providing excellent midwifery education for more than 500 matriculating students.

Why does MEAC need our help now?

This year, the U. S. Secretary of Education deferred a decision to extend recognition of MEAC, requesting that MEAC provide evidence of a stronger financial and volunteer base. It is ESSENTIAL that MEAC satisfies the requirements to continue its recognition by the USED. This appeal to you hopes to accomplish two things:

1.      Increase the capacity of MEAC’s Reserve Fund to cover one year’s operating budget ($120,000).

2.      Demonstrate to the USED that MEAC has a strong base of support that can be called upon to respond swiftly and effectively in a time of need.

Please help us in this one-time capital campaign. We have come so far in the last decade. We can’t let it slip away. Your support is crucial and so much appreciated at this time! Please give generously. Large donations of $500-$1,000 will provide significant support. Smaller donations will help, step-by-step, to achieve this goal. We can do this together- it is an investment in our future!

                                Sincerely Yours,

                                The Leadership of the Allied Midwifery Organizations

*Donations to MEAC are tax deductible!
Make checks payable to MEAC, POB 984, LaConner, WA 98257, www.meacschools.org

Changes in Monthly Format

		Friday, 14 November 08 - 09:29 PM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

It's that time of year when the weeks start flying by and we all get very busy with our families, work, and extra-curricular activities.  Can you believe the holiday season is upon us?!!

I'd like to change the format of the ICAN meetings just a bit.  Certainly I would like to schedule special meetings and forums to address specific needs in our childbearing and mother/baby supporting community, but more than anything I'd like to build community and a strong activism base surrounding natural and evidence-based childbirth practices.  So, I'd like to do our monthly gatherings "mixer style."

Support for natural (or at least low interventive) birth is shifting.  Many of you know that Dr. Lynn Montgomery, the obstetrician who opened the Birth Center, passed away unexpectedly.  His loss is tremendous.  I have also learned that Nancy Everett, CNM at Western Montana Clinic, will stop delivering babies sometime next summer.  Deni Llovet, former Birth Center CPM, is now involved in family practice down in Florence.  Luckily Dr. Montgomery had recently hired two CNMs to his practice, but I am concerned that support (from the medical community) of low interventive birth is waning in Missoula.  I am hoping that with your help, ICAN of Greater Missoula can be an integral part of the discussion and solution when it comes to keeping options open and available for women and their babies.

Anyway, I'd like to invite you to attend an informal gathering to discuss the birth "situation" in Missoula.  I'm interested to hear your thoughts and experiences with giving birth in Missoula. I'm interested to hear your ideas about ways to advocate for our (childbearing mothers and their infants) needs and bring about tangible changes here in our community.

Please join me THIS SUNDAY EVENING, NOV. 16 at 7:30pm
at LIQUID PLANET COFFEEHOUSE, 223 N Higgins Ave
I have reserved their cozy conference room!  Please feel free to invite others who share our interests.  Families are of course welcome!

Other upcoming events:
A week of programming at Happy Mama (Dec 1-5), including my presentation on VBAC Bans (time, exact day TBA)
ICAN Christmas Gathering, Sunday, December 21 at 7:30pm (place TBA)

ICAN's Efforts Merge in WDC with Business of Being Born Screening

		Wednesday, 27 February 08 - 07:51 PM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

Cesarean Awareness Network, Intl. is hosting a Capitol Hill [Washington DC] showing of Ricki Lake's "The Business of Being Born" on Thursday May 8th, 2008.

ICAN has the unique opportunity to influence law and policy makers with our perspective on the difficulties faced by women trying to plan the best and safest
birth for their children, while negotiating the pitfalls of modern obstetrical practice. By hosting this showing, we have the platform to request Capitol Hill's investigation into the loss of birth options and the skyrocketing induction and cesarean rates along with the recent increase in maternal mortality.

This also represents a chance to make ICAN recognized as the premier consumer education, support and advocacy group for maternal and fetal health in the United States and the World. Any endeavor of this magnitude is an enormous commitment for a grass roots organization such as ICAN. We depend on you, members and supporters of ICAN to help us make this incredible dream a reality.

Help ICAN make an even bigger difference in the lives of women and their families by giving your time and resources to this momentous opportunity. Together, we can change the world.

CARMELLAJEWELLOUTLET.COM is a business run by a mom who has had 3 cesarean sections. She wants to help fund this event and has generously offered discounted clothing to ICAN supporters—you get 25% off. Then ICAN will receive 20% of the purchase price to help pay for this Capitol Hill event. All you need to do is use "ican" as the Coupon Code. Please pass this on to anyone else you think may be interested. Hurry this offer is only available through April 30, 2008!

OR

Consider subscribing to ICAN for a lifetime, with a Lifetime Subscription http://ican-online.org/store/.  [Lifetime subscriptions are available through ICAN of Greater Missoula, so please let us know if you'd like to consider this option.]

OR

We are happy to accept donations as small as a $1.00.  Please enter the amount you wish to donate and click "add to cart". Thank you for supporting ICAN!

ICAN is a 501(c)(3) organization in the USA. Donations are tax deductible by most US taxpayers.

For more information, please contact Gretchen Humphries at Advocacy@ican-online.org , Dawn Kubik at Development@ican-online.org or go to our website http://ican-online.org.

Recent ICAN Response to VBAC & Homebirth Statments

		Tuesday, 12 February 08 - 01:15 PM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

ICAN’s Response to ACOG AND AABC Statements on VBAC and Homebirth

Redondo Beach, CA, February 7, 2008: The International Cesarean Awareness Network (www.ican-online.org) would like to publicly condemn both the AABC (American Association of Birth Centers) and the ACOG (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) for their statements (see links below) this week that limit not only women’s choices in birth but imply that birth is a fashion trend rather than a safety concern.

Since VBAC is the biological normal outcome of a pregnancy after cesarean, ICAN encourages women to get all of the facts about vaginal birth and elective repeat cesarean before making a choice. This decision should not include weighing the choices of your doctor’s malpractice payments but only be a concern of the mother, her baby and their health and safety.

Since some mothers will make the choice to give birth outside of the hospital, we encourage the AABC to not cave into ACOG’s demands that all women give birth in a hospital facility with a surgical specialist, but instead allow women to make their own choices about care providers, birth settings and risk factors. ICAN respects the intelligence of modern women and accepts that the amount of information available about VBAC and elective cesarean should serve as informed consent.

ICAN further encourages the governments of individual states to look closely at their cesarean rates (31.1% national cesarean rate as of 2006) and the informed consent laws that apply and help women to reach a standard of care that lowers the risks of major surgery and the risks of elective or coerced cesarean without medical indication. Women and children should not bear the brunt of malpractice risks being conveyed into physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health risks in order to protect their physicians.

Mission statement: 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. There are more than 94 ICAN Chapters across North America, which hold educational and support meetings for people interested in cesarean prevention and recovery.

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AABC statement

ACOG statement

There are numerous weblog responses from birth advocates regarding these two statements.  A weblog search using your favorite browser will produce a number of thought-provoking results.

 

Advocacy Project: VBAC Bans in the US

		Sunday, 27 January 08 - 03:29 PM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

Cesarean Awareness Is

		Saturday, 12 January 08 - 08:27 AM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

My friend over at Birth from a Cesarean Awareness Perspective wrote a follow-up post from her community's screening of "The Business of Being Born."  Evidently a woman stood up and responded defensively to perceived criticism of cesarean birth.  My friend writes:

[S]he missed the point. Cesarean Awareness is not about branding anyone. It's about being aware of those risks, doing what we can to mitigate the risks, doing what we can to prevent cesareans, doing what we can to encourage women to healthy pregnancies and healthy births that don't end in surgery or if they have surgery, learning new ways to help make these risks lessened.

I don't wear my ribbon to remind ME I had a cesarean, I wear my ribbon to bring attention to the risks and to bring attention to the fact that EVERY childbearing woman should know what I know.

Should anyone have concern over ICAN's mission, they need only read the above quote for a living, breathing, personal response to the issue of cesarean awareness.  Likewise, ICAN of Greater Missoula is charged with supporting women and their families through the decisions they make, helping them navigate the choices or mandates presented to them by their careproviders, and offering post-partum support especially for women who have suffered traumatic or disappointing birth experiences.  We are not about labels, and we're certainly not only about "scars."  We are about awareness, advocacy, and empowerment.  We are about REAL people not just statistics, institutions, organizations, "them."

Petition to Repeal VBAC Ban at St. Peter's Hospital

		Wednesday, 12 December 07 - 08:32 PM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

You may not be aware of this, but women with previous cesarean scars may not be allowed to have a vaginal birth at hospitals in Montana.  Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) has been shown to be safe, and in most cases it is appropriate for a women who desires a VBAC to undergo a trial of labor. [1]

St. Peter's Hospital in Helena is one hospital in the state that has put a VBAC ban in place.  This of course violates patients' rights and human rights, as no one can be forced into unnecessary medical procedures and surgeries.  West Houston Medical Center tried to put a VBAC ban in place, but due to a large response to this petition as well as timely media coverage, the ban was reversed.  Rather, it seems as though hospital administrators back-pedaled their way to "allowing" VBACs. 

One ICAN member in Helena has created a petition to garner support for reversing the VBAC ban in Helena.  I urge you to support this petition even if you don't feel this affects you directly.  Support this petition because women's rights are being violated.  Babies' rights are being violated.  Support this petition because no one should be forced to undergo major surgery.  Support this petition because you support a person's right to choose what's best for him/herself and his/her family.  Support this petition to send a message to other hospitals in Montana that don't allow VBACs, who are thinking about banning VBACs, or who by practice discourage VBAC.

Click here to find the petition and add your name in support.

Thank you for your consideration!

[1] See Landon et al, "Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes Associated with a Trial of Labor after Prior Cesarean Delivery," NEJM (December 16, 2004).

Follow-Up: Business of Being Born

		Sunday, 09 December 07 - 02:30 PM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

On behalf of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) and its local chapter, ICAN of Greater Missoula, I would like to thank each and every person who attended the benefit screening of THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN.  We had between 70 and 100 in attendance and did turn a profit that will help support the work that we do in the community.  Thank you for supporting the inception of ICAN of Greater Missoula through your attendance at this ground-breaking event.  I say ground-breaking because it is time for women and men in Western Montana to recover the transformative experience of natural childbirth.  This is why ICAN is so important in our local community - it is only through grassroots effort that we can change the birth culture in our community.  We can't expect our care providers to do the work for us.  Certainly the support of caring birth professionals in our community is essential for positive birthing outcomes for women, babies, and their families, but it is "we the people" who must forge the path to a more empowered and empowering birth culture.

Thank you to our wonderful panelists and panel facilitator: Dolly Browder (CPM), Sandhano Danison (DEM), Deni Llovet (CPM, Birth Center), and Courtney Long (doula).  We regret that Patricia Braak (MD) was unable to participate.  A number of important questions with regard to insurance coverage for homebirth, if and how good birth experiences can be achieved in a hospital setting, why we in America are stuck in a system that does not work, why Missoula's birth culture reflects national trends, as well as provocative statements and questions from attendees.

In case attendees and others who find this post would like a place to start searching the journey to an empowered natural birth, the comparison of cesarean and vaginal delivery, the safety of VBAC, or advocacy for homebirth, I invite you to search out the following resources:

• ICAN White Papers
• Childbirth Connection
• MANA (mentioned by a panelist)
• Robbie Davis-Floyd (expert featured in the film), cultural anthropologist
• Marsden Wagner (expert featured in the film), MD
• Michael Odent (expert featured in the film), MD
• Ina May Gaskin (expert featured in the film), midwife
• ICAN's Recommended Reading List (many ICAN subscribers recommend Henci Goer's The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth as the most important book for a pregnant woman to read)

Thank you, again.  I hope to see you at an upcoming ICAN meeting or another birth-related event.  Please let me know if I can answer any questions you may have with regard to ICAN and how to get involved.

~ Kimberly James, Chapter Leader

National Cesarean Rate at All-Time High of 31%

		Sunday, 09 December 07 - 02:05 PM (GMT -07:00) By Kimberly James in General

This week the CDC released preliminary vital statistics for 2006 which includes state-by-state cesarean birth information.  Here in Montana the 2006 cesarean rate was 28%, earning us a rank of number 37 (of 51).  The national cesarean rate was 31.1%, an all-time high.  Although Montana was 3 percentage points below the national average, the rate still exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations by 13-18%!  The WHO determined that when cesarean rates exceed 10-15%, the risks of the surgery outweigh the benefits.  Community Hospital's (Missoula) cesarean rate was about 30% in 2006.  Missoula's cesarean rate is headed in the wrong direction. 

Other alarming facts: The percentage of birth by cesarean has risen 50% in the past decade.  Montana's VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) rate in 2005 was only 1% and only 16 VBACs took place at Community Hospital in 2006.  This is particularly disconcerting because smaller area hospitals who claim to not have the capability of providing services for this demographic transfer their VBAC patients to Community Hospital.

For the second year in a row, ICAN has compiled a list of research from the past year that shows cesarean surgery should be used more judiciously and that VBACs should be routine/normal.  Currently, more than 300 hospitals across the U.S. ban women from having a VBAC, essentially coercing them into unnecessary surgery and feeding the growing rate of cesarean.  Very few Montana women have access to vaginal births after cesarean sections.  Only a handful of hospitals across the state allow VBACs – one of those hospitals is Community Hospital in Missoula.

In August, the Centers for Disease Control released a report showing that, for the first time in decades, the number of women dying in childbirth has increased.  Experts note that the increase may be due to better reporting of deaths but that it coincides with dramatically increased use of cesarean.  The latest national data on infant mortality rates in the United States also show an increase in 2005 and no improvement since 2000.  "At a time when maternal and infant mortality rates are decreasing throughout the industrialized world, the United States is in the unique position of having both a rapidly increasing cesarean rate and no improvement in these basic measures of maternal and infant health.” says Eugene Declercq, Ph.D., Professor of Maternal and Child Health at Boston University School of Public Health.

Another report released in October by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, the U.N. Children's Fund, the U.N. Population Division and The World Bank, and published in the Lancet shows that the U.S. has a higher maternal death rate than 40 other countries.  “Women in the U.S. think they’re getting top notch care, but our death rate for mothers shows otherwise,” says ICAN’s President, Pamela Udy.  The U.S.’s maternal death rate tied with that of Belarus, and narrowly beat out Bosnia and Herzogovena.

Research from 2007 also shows that VBAC continues to be a reasonably safe birthing choice for mothers. "The research continues to reinforce that cesareans should only be used when there is a true threat to the mother or baby,” said Udy. “Casual use of surgery on otherwise healthy women and babies can mean short-term and long-term problems." For women who encounter VBAC bans, ICAN has developed a guide to help them understand their rights as patients. The resource discusses the principles of informed consent and the right of every patient to refuse an unwanted medical procedure. Click here for a pdf copy of this important resource.

Women who are seeking information about how to avoid a cesarean, have a VBAC, or are recovering from a cesarean can visit www.ican-online.org for more information, support local chapters through suscription and chapter events, and contact ICAN of Greater Missoula for support.

About Cesareans: ICAN recognizes that when a cesarean is medically necessary, it can be a lifesaving technique for both mother and baby, and worth the risks involved. Potential risks to babies 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. http://www.ican-online.org/resources/white_papers/index.html

Mission statement: 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. There are 94 ICAN Chapters across North America, which hold educational and support meetings for people interested in cesarean prevention and recovery. 

... More items are available in my News Archive