BeeHealthy
International Cesarean Awareness Network schedules meetings

The International Cesarean Awareness Network of Buffalo will hold a series of meetings for 2007 to focus on how women can take a more proactive role in their prenatal care and avoid cesareans that may otherwise be preventable.

When used appropriately, a cesarean can be a life-saving technique for both mother and baby.

However, cesarean surgery often poses life-threatening risks to mother and baby and should never be performed unless those risks outweigh the benefits of a vaginal birth.

The goal of this series is to help educate women about their choices both before and during labor, so that they and their babies can have the safest birth possible.

The first meeting of the new year will be a discussion entitled "Cesarean Prevention Through Nutrition."

The meeting will focus on how nutritional choices can decrease likelihood of developing pre-eclampsia, toxemia, gestational diabetes, prematurity and other prenatal and infant conditions that can often lead to a cesarean.

"Cesarean Prevention Through Nutrition" will be held at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7 at HomeGrown Baby, 3111 Delaware Ave., Kenmore.

The second meeting, to take place on Wednesday, March 7, will present "Can Chiropractic Care Prevent a Cesarean?" featuring guest speaker Dr. Jessica D'Amore, a chiropractor from Family Chiropractic in Amherst.

She will discuss the benefits of prenatal chiropractic care, the Webster technique (for turning breech babies) and other ways spinal care can be beneficial to pregnancy and birth.

This meeting will also be held at HomeGrown Baby, 3111 Delaware Ave., Kenmore, at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, March 7.

A discussion group for those in need of support for cesarean recovery will follow both meetings.

Other topics that are planned for the year include: "How to Get Your VBAC Back," "What You Need to Know About Pain Relief in Labor," and a healing circle for women who have experienced a traumatic birth.

ICAN of Buffalo 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 undergoing a cesarean.

Meetings are held on a monthly basis. For more information, visit http://hometown.aol.com/icanofbuffalo, or e-mail Rachel at icanofbuffalo@aol.com.