April 2011 proclaimed Cesarean Awareness Month

(click on the blue link above to see the actual document signed by Governor Branstad!)

ICAN of Northeast Iowa would like to publicly thank Iowa Governor Branstad for proclaiming April 2011 as Cesarean Awareness Month.  Here is the fine print of the proclamation:

Whereas: this year, nearly one in three babies born in the state of Iowa will be born surgically via cesarean section, and

Whereas: the United States Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2010 Goals strive towards a reduction in the cesarean rate to 18% among low risk first time mothers and 72% for women with prior cesareans, and

Whereas: a cesarean can be lifesaving for both mother and baby in the right circumstances, and

Whereas: unnecessary cesareans can be avoided if childbearing families are properly educated about their choices in managing labor and delivery, and

Whereas: a cesarean section is major abdominal surgery, and

Whereas: women who undergo cesarean births have a longer recovery time and are subject to increased complications, and

Whereas: many women who undergo cesarean births appreciate support in their physical and emotional recovery, and

Whereas: women who undergo cesarean births face increased complications in their future reproductive life, including increased rates of unexplained stillbirth, placental abnormalities, and uterine rupture, and

Whereas: maternal-child health is improved by preventing unnecessary cesareans through education, providing support for cesarean recovery, and promoting normal birth after cesarean, and

Whereas: Iowa women have the right to full and complete information on the risks and benefits of natural and cesarean birth and the corresponding right to make informed choices about their health care, including the right to refuse unnecessary cesarean surgery:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Terry E. Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, do proclaim April 2011, as

CESAREAN AWARENESS MONTH