Centering Pregnancy is a multifaceted model of group care that integrates the three major components of care -- health assessment, education and support -- into a unified program within a group setting. Messer, who practices at the USA department of obstetrics and gynecology and USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital, will introduce this paradigm to Mobile.
Eight to 12 women with similar gestational ages meet together to learn care skills, participate in a facilitated discussion, and develop a support network with other group members. Each pregnancy group meets for a total of 10 sessions throughout pregnancy and early postpartum. The practitioner, within the group space, completes standard physical health assessments.
The first Centering Pregnancy class will be held at 9 a.m. on July 21, 2010, at the USA Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic on 1720 Center St. in Mobile. Each class will have a total of 10 sessions with one session per month.
Through this unique model of care, women are empowered to choose health-promoting behaviors. Healthy outcomes for pregnancies, specifically increased birth weight and gestational age of mothers that deliver preterm, and the satisfaction expressed by both the women and their providers support the effectiveness of this model for the delivery of care.
Centering Pregnancy groups provide a dynamic atmosphere for learning and sharing that is impossible to create in a one-to-one encounter. Hearing other women share concerns that mirror their own concerns helps women to normalize the entire pregnancy experience. Also, groups are empowering because they provide support to the members and also increase individual motivation to learn and change.
Group prenatal care was shown to result in equal or improved perinatal outcomes in a study published in an NIH article titled “Group Prenatal Care and Perinatal Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” To view the full article, visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2276878/.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.
For more information on the Centering Pregnancy classes, call (251) 415-1496.
