International Cesarean Awareness Month 2022 — Foster Women-Centered Care!

April is the official International Cesarean Awareness Month and is to create awareness of vaginal and caesarean births after pregnancy for an effective child birth.

Highlights:

Every 1 in 5 childbirths (21%) accounts for cesarean section — indicative of its global rise
April is celebrated as International Cesarean Awareness Month (CAM)
Month-long campaigns are initiated to promote awareness about the cesarean births, their recovery, and methods to reduce preventable cesareans, thereby advocating for healthy vaginal births

International Cesarean Awareness Month (CAM) is celebrated throughout April every year to advocate for a vaginal birth and raise awareness of the pros and cons of cesarean delivery.

Cesarean section - Types, Indications, Preparation, Surgery, Complications and Risks
Cesarean section is a method of delivering the baby from the mother by means of an operation. The mother’s abdomen and the womb are cut open and the baby is extracted from within.

‘April is annually recognized as International Cesarean Awareness Month to highlight the awareness of the need for cesarean and vaginal births.’
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What is a Caesarean Section?

A cesarean section or C-section is a surgical operation performed on the mother’s womb and abdomen to deliver the baby, especially in cases where normal vaginal birth poses a risk to the health of the mother and/or baby (). Some of the common indications for cesarean sections include ():

Breech (bottom first) or transverse (lying sideways) presentation of the baby
Twin pregnancy
Placental complications
Previous history of cesarean delivery

However, cesarean sections carry their risks and benefits for overall pregnancy.

Recovery after a cesarean section generally requires a longer time than the normal vaginal delivery. Moreover, there is also an increased risk of blood clots, infection, postnatal depression following an emergency cesarean, birth trauma to the child, and other surgical and spinal anesthesia risks (). Around 1 in 5 women are reported to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following an emergency C-section ().

Quiz on Pregnancy
There is a general belief that a pregnant woman should eat for two people. How far is this true? This compilation of information, presented in the quiz, will tell you more.

Rising Burden of Cesarean Section

With advancements in medical surgery, the rates of cesarean births are soaring high, especially in developed countries ().

Over 1 in 5 (21%) of all childbirths are accounted for as a cesarean section as per the World Health Organization (WHO) (). Australia Alone accounts for 1 in 3 cesarean births ().

The rate is expected to escalate even more with almost one-third (29%) of all births occurring with cesarean section by 2030. Moreover, the rising rates are indicative of medically unnecessary yet potentially harmful cesarean sections ().

General Anesthesia during Cesarean Delivery May Up Postpartum Depression Risk
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Need for Right Education

Although the cesarean section is considered a life-saving surgery, it equally imparts short- and long-term health risks to mothers and babies, in the absence of its medical indication (). In addition, the pregnancy risks or complications also increase with each cesarean section ().

A child’s birth is a completely normal physiological process and healthy vaginal birth is the right for every pregnancy. With proper education and emotional support, one may easily adopt to a healthy vaginal birth, thereby overcoming the threats of C-section in non-indicative scenarios ().

In cases of previous C-sections, Vaginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC) may be adopted as a realistic and safer alternative to repeat cesareans as abdominal surgery in itself carries multiple risks ().

“Cesarean sections are absolutely critical to saving lives in situations where vaginal deliveries would pose risks, so all health systems must ensure timely access for all women when needed. But not all the cesarean sections carried out at the moment are needed for medical reasons. Unnecessary surgical procedures can be harmful, both for a woman and her baby,” says Dr. Ian Askew, director of WHO’s Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research and the UN joint program, HRP ().

It is thereby recommended that a planned cesarean section is adopted only in case of absolute medical indications ().

Vaginal Condition Bacterial Vaginosis Could Lead to Cesarean Section
In pregnancy the degree of bacterial imbalance (bacterial vaginosis) is associated with whether babies are born by vaginal delivery or by emergency cesarean section.

ICAN Movement

The grassroots movement for the International Cesarean Awareness Month was initiated by International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) through its foundation in 1982 by Liz Handler and Esther Zorn ().

ICAN is a non-profit organization that has been involved in improving the health of a mother and child through public education on preventable cesarean operations. This year, the organization fosters the awareness by sharing infographics on cesarean births, raising funds, and designing a “wear your CAM 2022 t-shirt!” (). The global venture aims to reduce the number of cesarean births through the right education for the public. The campaign also raises awareness of the medical needs for cesarean births, and recovery from a cesarean and thereby necessitates the need for VBAC ().

ICAN also encourages researchers, birth professionals, administrators, policymakers, and various international and regional mother/baby organizations to support the families in advocating their birth rights ().

International Cesarean Awareness Month

Preventable cesareans may account for almost 20,000 major surgical complications (organ injury, hemorrhage, and sepsis) annually. Nevertheless, with proper awareness, nearly half of the C-sections can be prevented safely ().

The CAM thereby strives to bring-in a cultural shift among the public in taking control of their pregnancies and births as “Birth Rights Are Human Rights” as per the ICAN Board of Directors ().

Encouraging women-centered care (for pregnancy and childbirth) serves as a key to reducing the soaring rates of C-sections, thereby rescuing its complications. One may even volunteer for this noble venture as “many hands make light work” ().

Choose your Birth!

It is thereby mandatory that families are aware of full risks concerning C-sections and related uterine surgeries before their decision. The campaign also fosters to exclude biased counseling concerning pregnancy-delivery options ().

“It’s important for all women to be able to talk to healthcare providers and be part of the decision making on their birth, receiving adequate information including the risks and benefits. Emotional support is a critical aspect of quality care throughout pregnancy and childbirth,” says Dr. Ana Pilar Betran, medical officer at WHO and HRP ().

This International Cesarean Awareness Month, encourage active and positive involvement of parenthood during pregnancy — a key to choosing the birth. Knowing the birth options not only drives away fear surrounding it but also fosters a rather healthy maternal-child condition.

References :

Cesarean Awareness Month 2022: Melville mums share their stories - (https://melvillemums.com.au/cesarean-awareness-month-april-2021-melville-mums-share-their-stories/)
Caesarean section rates continue to rise, amid growing inequalities in access - (https://www.who.int/news/item/16-06-2021-caesarean-section-rates-continue-to-rise-amid-growing-inequalities-in-access#:~:text=According%20to%20new%20research%20from,21%25)%20of%20all%20childbirths)
ICAN News And Upcoming Campaigns - (https://www.ican-online.org/)
Caesarean Awareness Month Toolkit - (https://www.ican-online.org/cesarean-awareness-month-toolkit/)
International Cesarean Awareness Network - (https://www.ican-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CAM-2021-press-release-1.pdf)

Source-Medindia