Congratulations on your pregnancy!

The iCare Course (Improving Childbirth Awareness for a Richer Experience) was developed by Breck Hawk, RN and Midwife and is based on her book, Hey! Who's Having this Baby Anyway?

As a midwife and Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse, she developed her book and program to change how terribly women are treated in labor. Women need to stop getting manipulated in labor and they need to know when they enter the hospital in labor that they can have a safe and rich experience. The goal is to have pregnant parents informed about medical interventions and medications in labor and how to make choices that will help them have a safe and successful birth.

The iCare classes are never to replace the classes that already exist. They are an added bonus, designed to help a woman choose which direction she wants to go with her labor and help her decide if she wants to take other prenatal classes such as HypnoBirthing®, Lamaze, or Bradley. My goal is to have pregnant parents informed about medical interventions and medications in labor and how to make choices that will help them have a safe and successful birth.

The iCare Course is divided into 5 sections. The class includes a copy of the book Hey! Who's Having this Baby Anyway? There are handouts and worksheets for each class for you to fill out. At the end of the classes, I'll work with you to help you decide what you want to have happen at your baby's birth.

• Class One - Patient's Bill of Rights
  This class covers the rights patients have in the hospital and in a home birth situation. We'll cover the rights of mom and her baby, and all the things they are allowed to know about: their medical records, rights to refuse treatments, the right to help manage their pain, etc. We'll cover the woman's rights if she decides to have her baby at home, and most of all the responsibilities of the parents if they are choosing to have their baby at home.

• Class Two - Hiring the Help
  This class covers hiring the birth team, or changing the providers you have hired if you aren't satisfied. The class discusses the different types of providers including physicians, midwives, and doulas. We will discuss interviewing questions to make sure that your provider that you hire is a good match for you.

• Class Three - Medications in Labor
  This is the most important class you attend. Medications in labor have become so much the norm, that parents aren't aware of the potentially horrendous side effects not only on the baby, but the whole laboring process. We will discuss the medications that are most commonly used in labor and about unnecessary medical interventions. We will discuss the complications, insertion and management of epidurals, and the use of any narcotics. We will discuss Pitocin and Cytotec, and why I strongly object to its use. The focus of this class is to help you make wise choices.

• Class Four - Herbs in Pregnancy and Complementary Methods of Labor Management
  In this fun class we'll discuss herbs and how they will help with common discomforts of pregnancy like morning sickness, heartburn, and stretch marks. We'll discuss options to labor management like using HypnoBirthing®, Yoga, Reflexology and Acupuncture, as well as the traditional Lamaze, ICEA, and Bradley. The last part will be a discussion about choosing homebirth as an option for giving birth.

• Class Five - Birth Plans and Breastfeeding
  We'll discuss how to make your birth plan work, and what you need to do so it's not placed at the back of your chart at the hospital. We will give a brief outline, and give you an idea about what you may want to ask for. The last part of the class is about breastfeeding. We will discuss the importance of breastfeeding, how to tell if a baby is well latched on, how to increase your milk supply, and how Daddy can be involved.

Your iCare Course registration includes the Hey! Who's Having this Baby Anyway? book and all handouts and worksheets. Contact me to get registered for your iCare Course today, and be on your way to a safer, richer birth experience. I offer classes in Southern Colorado and the Front Range.  To find a certified iCare Course provider in other areas, please contact Breck Hawk on her website at www.HeyAnyway.com.

Why do I need the iCARE Course as well as another class?

Providers are ordering Pitocin 81% of the time.

Pitocin is commonly used in hospitals throughout the country to augment normal labors. 81% of the women who gave birth in hospitals received Pitocin. A medical school professor stated, "If they were to put a dye in the Pitocin, you'd see it in the IV of almost every woman in this country who is in labor."
And yet Pitocin is NOT approved by the FDA for augmenting labor.

Providers are ordering cesarean sections at the rate of 27.6%, almost 3 times the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended level.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) states that the cesarean rate for the United States is currently 27.6% (up from 5% in the 1970s). Of these 27 cesareans per 100 laboring women, 9:10 are medically necessary (the WHO recommended rate) and 5:6 are requested by the mom. This leaves 10:11 unnecessary cesareans that are provider-initiated for no other reason than personal convenience or pressure from the hospital to increase revenue.

Providers are prescribing epidurals for 3 out of every 4 births.

Epidurals have been shown to:

• Slow down or even stop labor
• Increase the need for oxytocin to stimulate contractions
• Lead to a cesarean birth, especially for first-time moms
• Cause maternal fever, which can result in a septic workup or
  antibiotic treatments for the baby and a long nursery stay
• Cause significantly decreased heart rate in the baby and affect
  the baby's oxygenation prior to birth...which can interfere with breastfeeding

No studies have shown that any of this is safer for the mother or the baby...in fact, just the opposite.

A study conducted by Dr. Lewis Mehl compared matched-populations of 2,092 homebirths and 2,092 hospital births. Midwives and family doctors attended the homebirths, and OB/GYNs and family doctors attended the hospital births. Within the hospital group, the fetal distress rate was six times higher, the incidence of maternal hemorrhage was three times higher, limp and unresponsive newborns arrived three times more often, and thirty permanent birth injuries were caused by doctors.