April is

Cesarean Awareness Month

#CesareanAwarenessMonth

#InformedConsent

#ICANadvocate

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CAM 2026 Webinars

Join us for our 2026 webinar series!

Breech Birth – Be Informed, with Breech Without Borders with Dr. Rixa Freeze

Click on the image below to play the recording!

Breech shouldn’t automatically mean “mandatory surgery”. There are options. This webinar will help families and clinicians move from fear to facts. Rixa Freeze, founder and president of Breech Without Borders, shares the history behind breech and the research comparing birth modalities.

Breech Without Borders is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to breech training, education, and advocacy.

https://www.breechwithoutborders.org

Breech Birth Course for parents from BWB

All About Informed Consent with Dr. Stu

Monday, April 20th at 9PM ET/6PM PT

In this webinar with Dr. Stuart Fischbein of Birthing Instincts and Birthing Instincts podcast, we will break down the different types of informed consent and refusal. We will also discuss decisional authority in relation to pregnancy and birth. Lots to explore so you can know your rights and what you are likely to face in your choice of birth environment.

Evaluating Breech Options with Kristine Lauria

Monday, April 27 at 9PM ET/6PM PT

When a baby remains in a breech presentation late into pregnancy, families are often not presented with options other than cesarean section. I will discuss all options, including planning a cesarean, vaginal breech birth and external cephalic version (ECV), and the risks and benefits of each. Understanding what each pathway involves is key to making an informed decision.

Kristine Lauria is an internationally recognized midwife and has dedicated her life to supporting women’s autonomy in medical decision making and physiological, undisturbed birth. In recent years, she has devoted significant time to humanitarian work with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), providing essential reproductive health care in low-resource settings. She specializes in breech and twins and travels worldwide teaching those skills to midwives.

Her inspiring life and work is featured in the upcoming documentary Allowed to Birth – The Journey of a Global Midwife premiering this fall.

Get Your CAM T-Shirt!

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CAM 2025 Webinar Recordings

Birth Stories

Birth and the Law

VBAC Facts Q&A

Birth Advocacy Policy Making:
Birth Centers & Policy

What is Cesarean Awareness Month?

April is Cesarean Awareness Month (CAM)!
CAM focuses on all topics surrounding cesareans, including reducing preventable cesareans, supporting cesarean recovery, and advocating for vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).
ICAN was founded in 1982 as a grassroots movement to serve these needs.
We need your help to grow Cesarean Awareness! Download and share the info-graphics, start a fundraiser, spread the word!

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Cesareans…

Why the Need

For Awareness

Researchers estimate that almost half of the cesareans performed could be safely prevented.
If families don’t know they have other options, they cannot advocate for themselves.
Cesareans can be “family friendly” depending on facility practices and protocols and provider support.
Preventable cesareans may be responsible for up to 20,000 major surgical complications a year, including sepsis, hemorrhage, and organ injury.
Future risks to birthing people and their future pregnancies and children are often not mentioned.

Advocacy Membership

ICAN of Central Iowa chapter leaders tabling in the Iowa Capitol rotunda for the inaugural Maternal and Infant Health Day.

Call to Action

Stay tuned to our social media channels during the month of April. Share!
Check out your local ICAN chapter or consider starting one!
Join as a member for special access to webinars and more.
Donate to ICAN.

Woman writing in a notebook, capturing a moment of focused concentration.

Key Messages

Lowering the rate of preventable cesareans is vital to improving maternal-child health.
Policies do not override a persons’ right to informed decision making.
VBAC bans are unethical and unenforceable for hospitals to institute. People have the right to informed refusal, which includes declining a cesarean.
For most people, VBAC carries lower risks than a repeat cesarean.
A healthy birth incorporates emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.
When a cesarean is necessary, it can be a lifesaving technique, and worth the risks involved.