March for Better Birth: Ending VBAC Bans in MN!

The Minnesota Better Birth Coalition, of which ICAN-Twin Cities is a member, is promoting "better birth at lower cost for all women in Minnesota by organizing public support for legislation that will remove barriers to evidence-based, woman-and family-centered maternity care."

Please join us for a Day on the Hill on Monday, March 9th to celebrate better birth for Minnesota women and hope for an end to VBAC bans in Minnesota:


DAY ON THE HILL SCHEDULE
11:15am Meet at St. Joseph’s Hospital or Region’s Hospital
11:30am Depart for the Capitol
12:45pm Assemble on the Capitol Steps
1:00pm Rally in the Rotunda
2:00pm Talk With Your Legislators!

Maternity care costs are increasing while maternal and infant outcomes are
getting worse:
• Minnesota’s infant mortality rate, compared to worldwide figures,
surpasses our national standing but still ranks 32nd.
• Surgical births, which cost up to 3x more than vaginal births, are
performed at a rate of 26% and rising, with some metro area hospitals at
57%. Research suggests a cesarean rate of no more than 10-15%.
• Over 1/3 of Minnesota births are paid for with public dollars..
• Women, lacking appropriate information to make informed choices, are
experiencing unprecedented rates of postpartum depression.


THE PROBLEM?
Current practices are not governed by evidence-based care,
which provides the best care with the least harm.

Bring the whole family and join us in front of St. Joseph’s or Regions Hospital with signs sharing your message about how BIRTH MATTERS to you. Our two groups will meet and march up the Capitol steps together to let legislators know that Minnesota families deserve: better birth. lower cost.

New VBAC Babies!

ICAN-Twin Cities congratulates Barb Paton and Jessie Bridgeford on the births of their VBAC babies:

Beau Alexander Paton, 12/17/08
Alexandra Rae Bridgeford (read her birth story here), 1/13/09

Way to go mamas!!!

ICAN Conference Scholarships!

Thanks to our fundraising efforts this past year, we are pleased to offer TWO $500 SCHOLARSHIPS for women from ICAN of the Twin Cities to help defray the costs of attending ICAN's 2009 International Birth Conference. The conference takes place April 24-26th in Atlanta, GA. More information on the conference can be found here.

Application deadline is January 25th. DON'T MISS OUT!

Scholarship Application

Early Elective Repeat C-sections Dangerous for Babies

Cross-post from ICAN Blog:

A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that elective repeat cesareans performed prior to 39 weeks of gestation significantly increase the risk or respiratory problems and other adverse outcomes for babies. According to the study, "The rates of adverse respiratory outcomes, mechanical ventilation, newborn sepsis, hypoglycemia, admission to the neonatal ICU, and hospitalization for 5 days or more were increased by a factor of 1.8 to 4.2 for births at 37 weeks and 1.3 to 2.1 for births at 38 weeks."

Read the full abstract here. Read the related article in TIME here.

Maternity Leave Before Delivery Decreases Likelihood of Cesarean

Cross-post from ICAN Blog:

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have found that women who take maternity leave prior to delivery are less likely to have cesarean sections. Women who started their maternity leave in the last month of pregnancy, rather than working up to the point of delivery, were nearly four times less likely to have c-sections. Read the full article here.

January support meeting

This month we will gather to share and support each other wherever we are on the journey. Have a recent birth story to share? Planning a VBAC? Need to be in a place where your birth experience will be understood? We look forward to seeing you!

There will be childcare available, so please RSVP to icantwincities@gmail.com and bring $5 to donate.

Meetings are held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 1720 E Minnehaha Pkwy, Minneapolis. MAP

Orgasmic Birth on 20/20

We'll be watching Orgasmic Birth at our February support meeting. The film was featured on last Friday's 20/20 episode. Watch the segment here. It's a great preview for the movie!