International Cesarean Awareness Network

ICAN is excited to announce the following keynote speakers for the 2009 conference:

Sarah J Buckley is a trained GP/family physician, an internationally-acclaimed writer on gentle choices in pregnancy, birth, and parenting, and mother to Emma, Zoe, Jacob and Maia, all born gently at home, 1990 to 2000. Her books including Loving Mama, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler, and Parenting by Heart. She has presented at numerous conferences and has been interviewed on issues related to birth and mothering for TV, radio, and for educational and birth-related DVDs. Sarah is also a member of Mothering magazine’s website expert panel.

Steve Buonaugurio was trained as a sociologist and teacher. In his personal and professional life, Buonaugurio’s favorite question is, "If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?" When Steve’s wife Mandy became pregnant, Steve immediately saw that something was wrong with the way women were being treated in the American maternity system. He thought a movie would help create a better environment for women in the US. But since he had never made a movie before and knew nothing about filmmaking, he thought maybe he’d just send an email to Michael Moore about the problem. Then Buonaugurio realized that one-day he may ask his own child his favorite question, "If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?" Buonaugurio knew he would have to walk the talk. The answer to his own question: write, direct and produce Pregnant in America.

Eugene R. Declercq is professor of maternal and child health and Assistant Dean for Doctoral Education at Boston University School of Public Health. He combines formal training in political science with his almost twenty years of experience as a certified childbirth educator to examine policy and practice around childbirth in the US and abroad. He has served as lead author of two national studies of women’s experiences in childbirth entitled Listening to Mothers. He’s published numerous research articles and is (very gradually) working on a book on cesarean childbirth. He was a technical advisor to the film documentary, The Business of Being Born.

Pam England, MA, CNM, is a home birth midwife and mother who, inspired by her own birth experiences, developed the Birthing From Within approach to childbirth and postpartum preparation.  Pam currently leads workshops and speaks at conferences all over the world, on topics such as birth trauma, cesarean birth, storytelling, visualizations & hypnosis, and many other aspects of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

Joni Nichols is a midwife, doula, and childbirth educator.  She has helped create Plenitude, a special birthing community in Guadalajara, Mexico. She is married and mother to three young adult children.

For more information on the 2009 conference, click here.