Taking Charge Of Your Prenatal Care

By Paula Greer, CNM, MS

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Taking Charge Of Your Prenatal Care

Are you tired of waiting forever in the waiting room for a 10-minute visit with your prenatal care provider? Do you feel rushed during your appointments and forget to ask all your questions? Do you feel empowered to participate in your care and feel a part of a team? Are you confused about all the conflicting information about what you should or shouldn't do during your pregnancy? Are your appointments at a convenient time for you and your partner to attend?

If this rings true for you, it might be time to learn about Centering Pregnancy and see if this model of group prenatal care appeals to you. Providers and patients report a higher satisfaction level with this form of prenatal care because it allows them to get to know each other in a much more relaxed atmosphere without feeling rushed.

In individual care, a mom sees her provider about 10 times for about 10 minutes. In group care, each of those 10 appointments are approximately two hours long. Moms are empowered to take their own weights and blood pressures and develop life skills and confidence to take control of their own health. During this total of 20 hours, there is much more time to discuss things like weight gain, healthy nutrition, stress management, exercise, breastfeeding, labor, birth plans and so much more. Having more time with their provider helps patients develop a partnership that leads to better health outcomes, improved self-care, increased self- confidence, group support and lasting friendships in an environment that is interactive and fun.

During the group, the patient participates in engaging activities and facilitated discussions, which promote the patient becoming more informed. These group discussions help patients be more confident and empowered to make healthier choices for themselves and their families.

Centering Pregnancy allows the patients, the staff and the hospital to build a village of support that lasts through the pregnancy, birth and immediately post-partum. Centering encourages partner participation, which also leads to relationship building as the couple prepare to launch into parenting. Often Centering patients decide to continue this group model of care with their well child visits. Centering Parenting provides the family with well child care and immunizations for the first two years of life. In Centering Parenting, an emphasis on self-care, wellness and women's health is woven throughout the sessions with their infants.

To quote a Centering provider, “Centering is moving from volume based to value based care, where we measure impact based on transformative outcomes for our patients. Some of the outcomes we have impacted in Centering are fewer preterm births, fewer low birth weight babies, lower rates of diabetes and decreased racial disparities and health inequities.”