International Cesarean Awareness Network

Many Women
Many Visions
One Scar
One Purpose

The International Cesarean Awareness Network, Inc (ICAN) was formed over 25 years ago in order to support women in their journey towards understanding the risks of cesarean section and with the purpose of helping them have healthy births and healthy lives after undergoing the surgery that changed them.

Twenty-six years later, many women are still being told the same reasons why they must have a cesarean or why they cannot have a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) despite more and more research that states that cesarean surgery should not be taken lightly and that vaginal birth after cesarean should be encouraged in order to reduce further risks to both mother and baby.

ICAN wants you to read the research for yourself. We encourage you to ask questions and explore your options and if it begins to look like you don’t have choices, help to make the changes necessary to bring about healthy births for yourself and other moms. Here are some simple steps to help you:

• Ask questions. If your care provider tells you a risk is "This" percent, ask them to show you the study and explain how it applies to your situation.
• Explore our website. There is a lot of good research on here to be able to share with your family or friends when they are concerned about your plans.
• Don’t try to convince others that what you are doing is right. Save your energy and your faith for your birth. When you are approached by those who care abut you, take the time to calmly explain your beliefs, then ask them to respect your decisions. Growing a baby takes energy and peace. Allow yourself the right to walk away!
• Interview your care providers like your life depended on it. In order to have a healthy birth, trust is essential in a relationship. If your care provider gives you outlandish risk assessments or impossible criteria like "You have to have the baby by 38 or 40 weeks if you want a VBAC…" then you know to go elsewhere because that physician isn’t giving you adequate information or choices that apply to healthy birthing women.
• Know your options. Explore midwives, homebirth, CNM’s, OB’s, family practitioners, birth centers. Birth is not only in hospitals and not only with obstetricians. Remember that starting with low risk care and being assessed properly often encourages moms to stay low risk.

We hope you enjoy exploring our website and sharing your stories with other women, Keep researching and reading and coming back often to help support the idea of healthy birth!