I’ve finally had a chance to read through the ICAN Conference Registration form and there are a ton of great sessions!  Initially, I wasn’t going to go simply because my baby is to young for me to leave by himself, so I can’t just pack a quick weekender bag and take off.  I’d have to bring my husband.  And, if I bring my husband, I might as well bring my daughter and stay in Atlanta for a week and make a family vacation out of it, which is a lot of packing and money.  Then I start having flashbacks of traveling on United who don’t offer early boarding for those traveling with small children as well as charge $25 for that second checked bag.  Must make a note not to travel on United again.

Then I read these session descriptions, I’m snapped out of my flashback, and gears start to turn in my brain.  I think of the opportunity to hear Sarah Buckley speak about “hormonal orchestration” (I’ve been wanting to read her book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering for quite some time now) … to learn how we can be so technologically advance and yet have 40 countries with fewer moms dying around the time of childbirth … managing hospital VBAC via “the L & D wars”  … is it possible to have a homebirth in the hospital? … the body during labor, you had me at “brain wave patterns and states of consciousness!” … interpreting medical records, I’ll be bringing mine! … Black Market Births … and midwifery legislation updates.  Doesn’t it sound great?  Those are only a few of the sessions.  Just think of all the great posts the conference will inspire!

Witness how my desire to go to a conference might turn into flying the whole family out for a week long vacation.  The hubby and I have talked.  It would result in us being out there for our wedding anniversary… but I really want to swing it.  Maybe I’ll see you there?

For more information on the conference, click here: ICAN Conference or skip directly to the Registration Form.  Early registration ends on February 1st.

I’ve included the descriptions below for your reading pleasure.

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Session #2 Sarah Buckley, MD – “Undisturbed Birth: Mother Nature’s recipe for safety, ease and pleasure”
Australian family physician and homebirth mother of four Sarah J Buckley MD brings her celebrated blend of science and wisdom, explaining in this lecture how the “ecstatic hormones of undisturbed birth” (oxytocin, beta-endorphin, epinephrine and norepinephrine and prolactin) are designed to enhance ease, pleasure and safety for mother and baby through labor, birth and beyond. She also explores how common obstetric interventions — epidurals, Pitocin, cesareans and even close observation of mother and baby — interfere with this delicate hormonal orchestration, and can compromise ease and pleasure, and sometimes safety, for mother and baby. Along the way, Sarah shares some mammalian birth stories; muses on the birth experiences of our stone-age foremothers; describes the multiple inbuilt safety factors in normal birth; and explains why chickens cluck when they lay eggs. A not-to-be-missed experience!

Session #4 – Eugene Declercq – “Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in the US”
Eugene Declercq, one of the most impassioned and forthright advocates for improving mother-baby health in the USA, breaks down the numbers and gets to the heart of why and how the United States is failing mothers and babies so miserably. Declercq makes it easy to understand the numbers and energizes birth activists towards our goal of providing evidence-based care to all.

Session #6 Susan Jenkins – “Just Say No? VBAC Bans and Other Hurdles in Avoiding Cesarean Surgery”
It seems as if we have reached the point with the present U.S. health care system where women who give birth in hospitals are strongly tempted to bring a lawyer as well as a doula to the hospital with them when they go into labor. Has this level of advocacy indeed become necessary and, if so, how does the average family prepare for “the L & D wars”? This presentation will explore various legal issues relating to informed consent, court-ordered cesarean surgery, and vbac bans, with a focus on recent developments and practical suggestions for avoiding unnecessary surgery and bringing public attention to the skyrocketing rates of medical interventions in U.S. hospitals.

A1 – Stacey Kerr, MD – Homebirth in the Hospital
As a physician with strong roots in midwifery, Dr. Kerr is a passionate advocate for childbirth practices that are not only safe but also empowering. Although homebirth is a viable option for many, there are women who do not want to deliver their babies in their own homes. But why should these women be given the message that their bodies are not to be trusted? Can’t they birth a baby without unnecessary medical technology and interventions?

A4 – Whapio Diane Bartlett – The Holistic Stages of Birth: A New Understanding of Labor
How does birth unfold without anyone managing or directing the process? Come and explore the Holistic Stages of Birth…one midwife’s personal practice of undirected birthing. We’ll share an new language to articulate what actually happens at birth and we’ll investigate brain wave patterns and states of consciousness that confirm the ability of mothers to orchestrate their own birth experiences.

B3 – Gretchen Humphries – Interpreting Your Medical Records
Are you bewildered by the ―medical speak in your own medical records or those of your doula-clients? Do you want to access easy tools to assist you in reading and interpreting these records? Gretchen Humphries, MS DVM draws back the veil and gives you the skills you need to crack the code and empower yourself with more knowledge about your birth experience. If you have copies of your records, please bring them. Session will be in a workshop format and seating is limited – register soon!

C3 – Nikki Amick – Black Market Births: When VBAC mothers are forced underground
This passionate, activist-oriented session will go over the benefits and risks of securing illegal care providers for VBAC home births as compared to alternatives, illustrate the unnecessary and harmful burden that is placed on families when attempting to access fully supportive VBAC care providers and identify barriers to accessing legal/sanctioned care pro-viders of choice and brainstorm ideas for forming grassroots efforts in addressing the barriers.

D4 – Susan Hodges – VBAC and Midwifery Legislation Panel
This interactive panel discussion will cover midwifery legislative efforts — which states are seeking it and the pros and cons for midwives, consumers and those concerned about VBAC access.

Take the time to get and read your records.  You may find that your “emergency” cesarean was no rush at all.

Medical Records Copying Charges by State

Want to know if your doctor has been subject to a board hearing or disciplinary note? 

Here is a link to the State Board sites for all 50 states.

She links to another great website: “The Big Push For Midwives, launched on January 24, is a coordinated campaign to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The website includes a page with links to news articles related to midwifery-related legislative efforts, and a map of states [which I've copied below] where licensure is available or where legislation is pending. Licensure is currently available to CPMs in 22 states.”

There is also a page on The Big Push for Midwives website that lists birth resources for the following states: Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.  (Might be a good place to look if you want a VBAC and are looking for a VBAC supportive provider.)

The relevance of CPM licensure to VBAC moms?  More legal options.

From Wikipedia:

No state prosecutes mothers for giving birth outside of a hospital. However, midwives who assist at such births may be prosecuted in some areas.

In the early and mid 1900s, physicians pushed to have midwifery banned throughout the United States. Childbirth became very clinical with the mother generally subdued with leather straps and ether. In 37 states it is once again legal to acquire the services of a midwife. Many midwives continue to attend mothers in states where it is illegal, while efforts are underway to change the law.

Practicing as a direct-entry midwife is still (as of May 2006) illegal under certain circumstances in Washington, D.C. and the following states: Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming.^[12] However, Certified Nurse Midwives can legally practice in these areas.

People wishing to have a midwife-assisted home birth in the United States should always research the applicable laws in their home state.

I know homebirth sounds like a radical thing, but I have heard story after story of women who would have never considered a homebirth until they started looking for a VBAC supportive OB only to find none and then felt trapped, out of options, and scared.  And so now these women, who would have been quite happy to birth in a hospital, are hiring midwives, regardless of wether it’s legal in their state, and having a homebirth VBAC rather than face the alternative, an unwanted, unnecessary repeat cesarean in a ‘VBAC ban’ hospital.

I hope this is going to be one of the factors that swings the conventional wisdom back to supporting VBAC because when enough women start birthing at home and that an impact is felt in hospital revenues, hospital administrators and OBs might start paying attention.  Unfortunately, by the time that happens, it might be ‘to late’ for the hospitals.  Enough women would have experienced the joy, peace, privacy, and safety of homebirth to never want a hospital birth again.