The LadyBugs program empowers women ages 16+ with SHEmophilia who are diagnosed with a clotting factor/platelet deficiency, care for someone, or carry any other bleeding disorder. The program’s goal is to assist women to find their voice when it comes to decision making about the health of themselves and their loved ones.

Our goal is to provide education about medical developments, advocacy skill building, stress management techniques and more to encourage women to recognize that their health is equally important.

2023 WINTER WEBINAR

These webinars have all ended, but recordings are available to WATCH. Just click on any of the images below to view them on YouTube. And please don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel while you’re there - we have a library of many other videos you may like!

Carriers Do Count! - for women with hemophilia and carriers of hemophilia

Rare Bleeding Disorders in Women & the Challenges for Care & Diagnosis - For factor deficiencies VII (7) and X (10) and Glanzmann's thrombasthenia along with other factor and platelet disorders

Challenges of vWD - For Women with von Willebrand Disease

**Coming Soon!**

**This session has ended but not yet been edited to protect the privacy of our attendees.**

OBGYN Considerations - For all women with a bleeding disorder as well as women carriers

Rebuilding the Body with Diet - For anyone with a bleeding disorder regardless of gender status

Why a Ladybug?

Ladybugs actually bleed from their knees when threatened. As a defense mechanism, the ladybug secrets a foul-tasting, yellow fluid from their knee joints to deter predators.

History of the LadyBugs Foundation

Barb Forss founded the LadyBugs Foundation in 1998 after she was diagnosed with FVII deficiency. A diagnosis that led her on a medical journey of nearly forty years to achieve after being told mostly by male doctors, that women do not bleed.

She recognized the need for women to network with other women with bleeding disorders to provide them the education needed to advocate for themselves. Barb has continued her work through empowering presentations at the chapter, national and international level.

Continuing The Legacy

CHES is proud to call Barb a long-standing friend. We have collaborated on many projects and created the very first weekend long program for families affected by FVII deficiency; fulfilling a long time dream for Barb. At its’ core, LadyBugs remains a program uniquely tailored to the needs of women with bleeding disorders, carriers and mothers’ of children with a bleeding disorder.

CHES endeavors at this time to carry on Barb’s legacy as the new providers of the LadyBugs Program. We are honored to continue her work on behalf of all women with bleeding disorders (WWBD). The LadyBugs program empowers women to find their voice when it comes to decision making about the health of themselves and their loved ones. The goal of our weekend-long program is to provide education about medical developments, advocacy skill building, stress management techniques and more to encourage women to recognize that their health is equally important.

FAQs - LIVE MEETINGS

Who can attend?

The LadyBugs program is designed for women 16 and older who are mothers, caretakers, siblings and women with a bleeding disorder. U.S. residents only.

How much does it cost to attend?

In the past, there have been no costs associated to attend. Travel related expenses including tolls, mileage and parking were reimbursed, and air transportation was arranged for participants.

With tighter budgets and stricter industry guidelines, air travel costs for participants is becoming more difficult to cover. We cannot yet disclose the actual cost for participants, if any, of this program. But we are currently working hard to make this program as affordable as possible. If you wish to attend, we strongly urge you to register (during open-registration) ASAP for the best financially affordable outcome. You may cancel at a later time if any required costs are not conducive to your financial reach.

For more info about our grant coverage, please view our policies and guidelines.

What changes can I expect during the COVID pandemic?

For everyones’ best interest, safety measures may need to be taken. Each venue’s safety guidelines differ, making it difficult to specify at this time. And as COVID variants can be still a concern, safety precautions are consistently changing. Specific precautions (if any) will be in place and announced as time nears for each program. PLEASE BEWARE ANY LIVE PROGRAM RUNS THE RISK OF SHIFTING TO AN ALL-VIRTUAL PLATFORM, IF DEEMED NECESSARY.

What is a HYBRID program, and what does that look like?

The program will be ran both In-Person and Virtually simultaneously to accommodate for attendees’ preferences and/or specific situations.

The In-Person experience will run as usual from past years. Attendees will arrive Friday afternoon to settle into their rooms and depart on Sunday around noon. During their stay, folks can learn through the available sessions, socialize with other attendees, and join us for meal times and planned activities.

Those who attend virtually will receive Zoom invitations to the education sessions offered at the live event. Virtual attendees can choose which sessions they would like (or are able) to watch with the live audience where they can participate through Q&A and any other interactions planned for each session. *Note, certain sessions may not be available for the virtual option.

Will the location be accessible to wheelchairs and other mobility devices?
Absolutely!

Will child care be available?
Due to limited funding, childcare will NOT be provided at this time.

What about patient confidentiality?
Information that you share or hear will be treated with the utmost respect and never disclosed without your permission. We want participants to feel comfortable so that we may support one another.