April is Cesarean Awareness Month! Resources for You and Your Classes

April is Cesarean Awareness Month (CAM) and that presents a wonderful opportunity to share resources for cesarean prevention and recovery as well as Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC) support.

I am a co-leader of the Seattle chapter of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) and teach classes in Seattle on both VBAC and Cesarean birth. (I call them VBAC YOUR Way and Cesarean YOUR Way) I thought I might share my favorite resources on this topic and ask you to share with readers what you prefer to share with your students, patients and clients on this topic.

ACOG Committee Opinion on Cesarean Delivery on Maternal Request

ACOG Practice Bulletin on Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Delivery

Birthing Beautiful Ideas; VBAC Scare Tactics - Kristen Oganowski has a great series on scare tactics that women hoping to VBAC might face. Good balance of heart and science.

Birthing Normally after A Cesarean or Two - Science & Sensibility three part interview with author and childbirth researcher Hélène Vadeboncoeur, done by Kimmelin Hull, former Science & Sensibility Community Manager

Cesareanrates.com - organized by Jill Arnold (of The Unnecessarean), provides a comprehensive breakdown of cesarean rates by state and hospital for the USA.

Childbirth Connection - Vaginal Birth or Repeat C Section: What You Need to Know

Evidence Based Birth - Rebecca Dekker is a Science & Sensibility contributor and writes a great fact based blog. She frequently writes on the topic of cesareans.

Giving Birth With Confidence's A Woman's Guide to VBAC: Navigating the NIH VBAC Recommendations - Lamaze International's parent blog hosts this wonderful resource written by Amy Romano and Kristen Oganowski

International Cesarean Awareness Network - online casino dgfev international organization that works to prevent unneeded cesareans, promote cesarean recover and help women striving for a VBAC. Offers both online support as well as local chapter meetings.

A Natural Cesarean - A Woman Centered Technique. This video demonstrates and discusses ways that health care providers can make the cesarean more mother-baby centric, offering techniques that provide a great degree of satisfaction to the birthing woman.

NIH VBAC Consensus Statement - In 2010, the National Institute of Health, a US government agency convened experts on VBAC and Cesareans and took testimony and heard discussions about best practice. They summarized the results of this groundbreaking forum in this document.

The Truth about Cesareans - by Eugene Declercq. Short 6 minute video on why the cesarean rate might be so high.

VBACFacts.com - A blog run by Jen Kamel, this website is a wealth of information and analysis on current studies and data as it relates to cesareans and VBAC birth. Jen also runs a fabulous VBAC webinar that is available online.

The Well-Rounded Mama - blog run by occasional Science & Sensibility contributor Pamela Vireday, provides frequent information on VBACs, cesareans and large sized women, but the insight is valuable for all.

I am also aware of a free webinar, for birth professionals and providers as well as parents, 'Family Centered Cesarean Birth' that you may want to consider signing up for. Click here for more information. The webinar is presented live on Thursday, April 11th and then available after the presentation to watch as a recording.

What are your favorite go to resources to share with expectant parents? Do you have a particular film clip that you like to show? A book recommendation? Do you have an effective method of presenting information on Cesareans and VBACs in your classes and with your clients and patients. Let's have a discussion in the comments section. I welcome your thoughts.

Published: April 04, 2013

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