Looking Ahead: Meeting times for 2012

Here are our meeting topics for early 2012. Please let us know if you can attend or if you have other ideas for meeting topics.

We meet at Congregation Shaarai Shomayim on Duke St, across from LGH on the third Thursday of the month at 7pm.

January 19 - Childbirth Options in Your Community and How to Choose a Care Provider
February 16 - Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy
March 15 - Video Night: More Business of Being Born Ep 4: The VBAC Dilemma
April 19 - What is "Informed Consent?"
May 17 - Common Birth Interventions
June 21 - Birth Expectations vs Reality

Help Support ICAN at the 2011 Lancaster Baby and Toddler Expo!!

ICAN of Lancaster is very excited to announce that we will be an exhibitor at this years Baby and Toddler Expo to be held November 4-5, 2011 at the Lancaster Convention Center!

A fellow Doula and I partnered as exhibitors for last years expo and I have to say it was a great experience! Hats off the the Lancaster News Paper for organizing a great event. The 2010 expo was the first of it's kind for downtown Lancaster and I was very impressed at the diversity of the exhibitors and vendors. We at ICAN thought this would be a great opportunity to spread the word that we are here, here for the mothers of Lancaster county!

Lancaster has had it's own local ICAN chapter since April of 2010 and holding monthly informational and support meetings since July of 2010. But, unfortunately, meeting turn outs have been low, despite our website, Facebook page and fliers posted around town. With a national average cesarean rate of 34% we know that there are women out there who could use our support and resources! So how do we make ourselves known? This is a great opportunity for ICAN to reach out to all those mamas in need!

ICAN is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve maternal-child health by preventing unnecessary cesarean sections through education, providing support for cesarean section recovery, and promoting Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC).

As we are a nonprofit organization and run solely on membership and donations we need your help to fund this amazing opportunity. ICAN of Lancaster needs to raise approximately $350 to pay for our booth fee and supplies! That's not that much, I know we can do it with your help! And the payoff is priceless when you consider all the mothers and babies we'll be helping.

Please make your tax deductible donation by clicking on the donate now button. Any amount is greatly appreciated!!! Thank you for your support of ICAN and our mission.

BONUS!!! Everyone who makes a donation is entered to win 2 free tickets to the 2011 Baby and Toddler Expo! It's super fun for the whole family. Please check out their website for more information on this years featured exhibitors and activities!

http://www.lancasterbabyexpo.com/

Monthly Meeting Schedule

Please Note: ICAN of Lancaster will not be holding monthly meetings until further notice. Our chapter leader, Kerry, is expecting her third child in the next few weeks! :) Of course we will be available via phone and email during this time! Please do not hesitate to contact us for support and resources. Thank you for your understanding!

Just Released: Pennsylvania Department of Health 2009 Birth Statistics

Pennsylvania cesarean section rate rises from 31% in 2008 to 32% in 2009. The following information of cesarean section rate by hospital is based up the Pennsylvania Department of Health 2009 Birth Statistics report. The report can be found at:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=809799&mode=2

Cesarean Section Rate by Hospital:

1. Ephrata Community Hospital - 27%

2. Women and Babies LGH - 32%

3. York Hospital - 34%

4. Hanover Hospital - 28%

5. Memorial Hospital York - 23%

6. Hershey Medical Center - 38%

7. Good Samaritan Hospital - 33%

Birth Right

September Meeting "The Key to Postpartum Wellness is Inside You"

Please join us as we welcome Wendy Shiffer, birth expert and placenta encapsulation specialist at ICAN of Lancaster's Monthly meeting. Wendy will be sharing all the extraordinary benefits of placenta encapsulation. Wendy is a certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist through Placenta Benefits (PBi). www.placentabenefits.info

About PBi

Emotional issues following birth are usually given the vaguely demeaning term of "baby blues", making the condition easy for doctors to dismiss, and leaving women to cope as best they can until it passes. Only now they are often rendered silent, quietly waiting to enjoy what should be the happiest time of their life. In some cases, the baby blues continue long enough to meet the diagnosis of postpartum depression. Women are then commonly prescribed antidepressant medication and advised to stop breastfeeding so the drugs will not get passed to the baby. Postpartum depression is a serious condition that is a real concern to many expectant women. Studies are finally being done to discover its roots, but it has not even been considered a valid psychological condition until just recently. As a result, there is much to learn about its causes and any potential cures.

I created this site to provide a central location for placenta information, specifically as it relates to the health benefits for postpartum women. When I began researching placentophagy the articles were often difficult to find, and generally highlighted the strangeness of it more than anything. I believe that Mother Nature has already provided women with exactly what we need to begin our journey into motherhood healthy, happy and vibrant. Through the ages that knowledge was lost. It is time now to set aside our societal prejudice, and embrace the placenta for what it truly is - a path to wellness. ~ Jodi Selander

Cesarean Deliveries Rise Alongside Rate of Induced Labor

Time magazine reports:

Another factor contributing to high C-section rates is the increase in induced labor, especially between 37 weeks and 38 weeks of gestation — a period obstetricians describe as "early term." (While any birth between 37 weeks and 41 weeks is considered full term, some experts distinguish the earlier period.) The use of labor induction in the U.S. has risen from less than 10% of deliveries to more than 22%, between 1990 and 2006, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and research suggests that induced labor results in C-sections more often than natural labor. A study published in the July issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology found that among more than 7,800 women giving birth for the first time, those whose labor was induced were twice as likely to have a C-section delivery as those who experienced spontaneous labor.

Read the whole story here.