International Cesarean Awareness Network

Education, Support, & Advocacy for Birth Justice & Healing

An Update to Donors Regarding Recent Developments

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March 3, 2020

Dear ICAN Donors: 

We the Board, write to you today regarding recent developments affecting our organization. In late October 2019, the Board discovered that Mychel Pendley Hefner, the former treasurer, had misappropriated ICAN funds. The Board discovered this misappropriation through due diligence relating to Ms. Hefner’s conduct as treasurer. The misappropriation of funds was subsequently confirmed by a confession from Ms. Hefner. The Board immediately removed Ms. Hefner from the treasurer position and began an investigation into the misappropriation. After extensive analysis, the Board determined that Ms. Hefner misappropriated at least $26,119.07 spanning the years of 2016-2019. Thus far, approximately $7,979 of these misappropriated funds have been returned. Also, any financial impacts to local chapter accounts have been remedied.

Ms. Hefner’s conduct is a deep betrayal of trust to our mission. In response, the Board took a number of immediate and protective steps including removing Ms. Hefner’s access to ICAN funds, bank accounts, and credit cards, conducting an internal investigation, and reporting the results of that investigation to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, the county where Ms. Hefner resides. The Sheriff’s Office arrested Ms. Hefner on February 11, 2020 and she was arraigned on February 12, 2020. That legal action is ongoing. 

The Board has also taken steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. The Board has adopted improvements to its Financial Policy, and is adopting improvements to the Bylaws. These changes will increase the rigor of spending approval and oversight. 

We write to you today in the interest of transparency and to honor ICAN’s values as an organization. If you have questions, please contact BoardQuestions@ican-online.org. 

We will continue to monitor this situation and work on protecting ICAN’s future. We hope to work together for a stronger ICAN.

Sincerely,

ICAN Board of Directors
Brianna Barker
Justen Alexander
Kelly Hufnagel
Samantha Wall
Brittany Healy

Meet the Leadership: Alexis Scott, ICAN of Fargo-Moorhead

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 ICAN is excited to announce Alexis Scott

as our newest Chapter Leader!

“There are always choices; no one else should be in control of your voice.” 

~ Alexis Scott, ICAN of Fargo-Moorhead

Please introduce yourself to ICAN:

I graduated from college with a degree in Business. I speak Spanish fluently and have worked mostly in Human Service positions. I have been staying home full-time with my 3 boys for almost 2 years now and work part-time at a local women’s shelter in the evenings. I have had 2 successful open-heart surgeries after being diagnosed with CHD after birth. My family enjoys time out at our lake cabin, boating, fishing during the summer and trying to embrace the cold weather here in Fargo in the winter. I love remodeling and DIY projects and am a huge fan of Joanna Gaines. I am a proud mom of loss, our third son, Max was stillborn at 22 weeks after being fatally diagnosed with Thanatophoric Dysplasia in 2014.

What led you to join ICAN? What part of being an ICAN Chapter Leader are you most excited about and why?

I am a regular participant and leader at ICAN of Twin Cities. I’m excited to have an opportunity to educate and create change in the local birth community. ICAN is a passionate organization looking to improve health and outcomes for moms. We are passionate because of personal experiences.

Where will you be serving families through ICAN?

We will focus on the local Fargo-Moorhead area. The two local hospitals will not share any stats with us and it’s very disappointing. We also have one hospital with no midwives and another hospital with VBAC’s only allowed with OB’s. We would like that to change and give women more choices in the hospital. But the area is growing. There are signs from all over the community that we are changing and growing and embracing more natural options. I expect our birth climate to be very different in 5-10 years.
 When does your chapter meet?
Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 17th at 7:05 pm at Atomic Coffee in Fargo, ND. See the event info here!
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Congratulations, Alexis! 

Meet the Leadership: Karla Wiegrefe, ICAN of Fargo-Moorhead

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ICAN is excited to announce Karla Wiegrefe as our newest Chapter Leader!

“We can’t talk about the risks and none of the benefits of one thing (VBAC) and the benefits but none of the risks of the other (CS) and yet that is too often when our maternity system does. How much better everyone is served when accurate information on the risks and benefits of both are well known. People can make decisions with true informed consent when they are able to weigh the risks and benefits of their various options and then make the choice which best fits for them.” ~ Karla Wiegrefe, ICAN of Fargo-Moorhead

Please introduce yourself to ICAN:

I have been married to Jeff for 26 years, am a mom to 9 awesome individuals (6 boys and 3 girls ranging in age from 26 down to 6), and am Oma to one grandchild who recently turned 1. My childbearing years span the time during the early to mid-1990s when VBAC was the norm and encouraged through to the 2010s when finding supportive care for VBAC was once again quite challenging. I nursed my babies for over two decades, have homeschooled all along, and am now a professional birth and bereavement doula.

What led you to join ICAN? Which part of being a Chapter Leader are you most excited about?

I first heard about ICAN in the early 1990s when I was planning my first VBAC. I appreciated having a resource for accurate information regarding risks and benefits of both cesareans and VBACs and even more than that, I appreciated the connection to other moms who had similar experiences. We have needed an ICAN group in ND for a very long time, and I’m thrilled to be a part of getting that started. What a great resource ICAN is for information and support!

Where will you be serving families through ICAN?

Fargo, ND is located on the border, just across the river from Moorhead, MN. We serve all the surrounding areas and beyond since there are no other ICAN groups near us. Both hospitals are moving toward more mother-baby friendly care. The Golden Hour (keeping the baby with mom for the first hour) is considered standard, delayed cord clamping is becoming the norm, and some providers are moving toward more family-friendly cesarean options. Currently, both hospitals require VBAC moms to be attended by OBs, who work on a strict on-call rotation. Some of the OBs are quite supportive of VBAC, some are tolerant and others discourage VBAC. I would love to see area women have the option of continuity of care so that they could have their provider for their birth. I would also like to see VBAC moms have the option once again to have CNM and Family Practice Doctors attend their births.

Meeting info?

Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 17th at 7:05 pm at Atomic Coffee in Fargo, ND. See the event info here!

Congratulations, Karla! 

Meet the Leadership: Tiffany Venekamp, ICAN of HKA Texas

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ICAN is excited to announce Tiffany Venekamp as our newest Chapter Leader!

“Informed Consent has not been given if a provider does not lay all the options on the table with honest pros and cons of said choices. ”

~ Tiffany Venekamp, ICAN of HKA, Texas

Please introduce yourself to ICAN:

I am the mother of three boys: Aiden, Rowan, and Lochlan and I have an amazingly supportive husband named Matthew. I am also a CPST and I spend most of my spare time helping people install their car seats properly. On the off chance I have additional spare time on my hands, I enjoy reading, roller skating, and baking. I have had three completely different birth experiences. My first was a 24 hr labor, 2 hrs pushing, then a cesarean. My second was an insanely fast 4 hr hospital VBAC. My third was an incredibly peaceful 9 hr HBAC.

What led you to join ICAN?

I honestly don’t remember the very first time I encountered ICAN. I do know that I joined the online communities when I learned that there were people like me that struggled with their cesarean births. I attended my first ICAN meeting at the Houston/Galveston chapter and I loved the ability to share my story with people that understood. That is when I felt called to help other women find the peace they’ve been looking for surrounding their births and to help women avoid unnecessary cesareans.

How do you share about ICAN with others?

Just being a louder voice in my community. I have always commented with educational articles and VBAC facts and statistics in our local mom facebook groups but our closest ICAN chapter meetings are over an hour away. Being able to provide this in person support closer to home is going to be a game changer. I wish people knew that our mission is about so much more than preventing a cesarean. It is about information and education and helping women feel confident and proud of the decisions they make during their births and about healing from the births that left them feeling vulnerable and broken.

Where will you be serving families through ICAN?

My chapter will serve the suburbs of Northeast Houston: Humble, Kingwood and Atascocita. Houston is the third largest city in America. We really do have great VBAC options here – it is just a matter of getting the education out there – but our local hospital has an alarming amount of wound vacs after cesarean.

Next meeting?

We’ll have a general support meeting on May 29th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at New Leaf Chiropractic in Humble, TX. See the event here!

 

Congratulations, Tiffany! 

ICAN Book Club: Cut, Stapled, and Mended – Roanna Rosewood

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freestocks-org-139132Every second Wednesday, our blog features a book review as part of our Book Club series! Check here to discover the latest books on topics such as pregnancy, labor, postpartum, and recovery from birth. If you have read the featured book or if you just finished a new and exciting book, please feel free to leave your comments and title suggestions below or email blog@ican-online.org.

Originally published 2016

Birth stories hold a special place in my heart, as they do for many other women. They tell a story that women can relate to; a story that can make us cry; a story that can make us laugh; or a story that can make us realize things about ourselves that we never knew before. All of the above is what happened to me when I read “Cut, Stapled, and Mended”, by Roanna Rosewood. The pages of this book are filled with Roanna’s story of her three births.

Cut, Stapled, and Mended by Roanna Rosewood
Cut, Stapled, and Mended
by Roanna Rosewood

I first heard about this book during my second pregnancy (a planned VBAC). I can honestly say that this book is what “lit the fire” to my yearning for a more fulfilling birth. In the first pages of “Cut, Stapled, and Mended”, Roanna instantly sets the tone for a very relatable story. Narrated by Roanna herself, she tells her story from childless, to mother of three, and all of the in between.

This book not only tells the story of three births, it touches on the taboo topic of cesareans in America. “It’s no wonder that babies, who used to arrive at all hours of the night and on weekends and holidays also, are now most often born on weekdays” (p.51). Rosewood goes on to talk about her experience with two cesareans, both home birth cesareans, and the misinformation modern medicine can give women during one of the most vulnerable times of their life.

During her third pregnancy, Roanna discovered things about herself that she never knew before. In addition to doing everything she could, physically, to experience the birth she had always dreamed of for her and her baby, she did a lot of self- healing. She faced darker feelings and emotions, to overcome them and be at peace with herself and her inner feminine being.

That last part is what resonated with me so much. Going into my second pregnancy, as with many other women, I had a lot of unresolved feelings about my first birth; feelings that I did not realize existed until I read this book. I think too often, women are made to hide their feminine feelings and inner self-worth, especially when it comes to modern obstetrics. This book put words to my feelings.

After reading this book, I felt hopeful for my future births. I felt that if someone else could feel the way I did, and go on to have a magical birth, then I could too. I believe this would be the same for most women. I think this book is a must-read for any woman, not only those seeking a VBAC but any woman who has felt held down by the way our society thinks a woman should behave.

Review by Talia Haynes of ICAN of Tucson

Book link to Amazon Smile – a portion of each sale is donated to ICAN