ICAN mama Rebecca James was recently interviewed on elephantjournal.com about her journey from having a “McBirth” to homebirth, with a little help from ICAN along the way. She had this to say about how ICAN helped support her after her traumatic cesarean surgery:
It is hard to find support after a cesarean! Most people don’t understand why a mama can feel so grieved after a birth, even if it is surgical. After all, I had a healthy baby right? Well, I still deeply felt the loss of a peaceful birth for myself and for my baby! I wondered what I did wrong and why this had happened to us. After my c-section I immediately sought out the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN.) I had heard of ICAN before, but knew after my surgery that I needed ICAN more than ever for support and understanding in my recovery. Later on I needed ICAN yet again for support of my hopeful VBAC! I was able to attend the 2009 ICAN conference in Atlanta which so inspired me that I joined a dear friend in starting a local ICAN chapter. Attending (and sometimes leading!) the monthly ICAN meetings did so much to help me prepare for my VBAC in every way possible. The information is wonderful and very helpful, but even better is the invaluable support and love from all the other women who shared similar experiences and understood me.
Read Rebecca’s full interview and see her birth video here.
Has ICAN helped you? How? Email us your “thank you ICAN story” at blog@ican-online.org.
Rebecca says
Thank you so much for sharing my story! I’m proud to be a part of the ICAN community. 🙂 Can’t wait for the conference!!!
Guillotines says
Nice support ICAN!