Pregnant women often benefit from advice and support from other pregnant women; perhaps this is why an alternative prenatal approach called Centering gaining popularity. Michele Burtner, certified nurse midwife, answers some questions about this group care program.
Health Questions: What is Centering?
Burtner: Centering is an approach to prenatal care designed to give women more time for instructions, health checks, and discussions with their providers and other patients. The Centering Healthcare Institute, based in Boston, developed the Centering practice model more than two decades ago and works to share it with practices across the country. The goal is to improve health care for pregnant women and their babies, and to reduce the cost of health care caused by premature birth and other unwanted consequences.
Health Questions: How is it different from traditional prenatal care?
Burtner: In traditional prenatal care, a woman has 10 scheduled individual visits with her provider for health assessments and care; these usually take 15 minutes or less. In Centering, patients participate in group sessions with a small number of other pregnant women who are at the same stage in their pregnancies. The center offers patients the recommended 10 prenatal wellness visits, but each visit lasts 90 minutes to two hours. So rather than spending about three hours of prenatal care with the typical approach, women who participate in Centering Pregnancy normally receive about 23 hours of prenatal care. The group’s facilitators – a midwife and a nurse – help guide the group’s discussion of pregnancy and postpartum topics, covering everything from normal pregnancy symptoms to labor, childbirth and newborn care. It is not only an effective way to convey information, it is also an environment in which expectant parents can learn from and support each other. We have seen women form lasting friendships during these sessions and watch their babies grow together!
Health Questions: What happens during a centering visit?
Burtner: Sessions begin with an individualized health assessment involving each woman (and her partner) and a midwife. Each woman learns to take her own weight and blood pressure, and record her own health data in a personal Pregnancy Centering book. They will also meet with a midwife to spend some private time with her. After health assessments are completed, the group meets to discuss a wide range of pregnancy and postpartum topics. Midwives lead the discussion and interactive learning activities.
Health Questions: What are the benefits of centering?
Burtner: Numerous studies have shown that the Centering approach improves outcomes for pregnant women and their babies:
- It reduces the number of premature births, which affect 11.4 percent of all births in the United States and are the leading cause of death in the first year of life.
- Centering has also been found to decrease the rate of low birth weight babies, increase breastfeeding success rates, improve adolescent pregnancy health, and improve postpartum health visit attendance and pregnancy rates. vaccination.
- Centering’s emphasis on interactive and group learning helps parents feel more engaged and empowered in their pregnancy, allowing families to feel empowered and supported.
Health Questions: Is Centering Common?
Burtner: There are more than 470 Centering Pregnancy certified practices in 45 states; they treated more than 50,000 patients in 2015, or about 1 percent of all births. As more people hear about its benefits, so do the number of patients choosing this approach for their prenatal care.
Health Questions: What is covered in the sessions?
Burtner: Courses cover all the topics a woman and her family need for prenatal health: nutrition, common health issues, stress management, labor and delivery, breastfeeding, infant care, postpartum and contraception options.
Health Questions: What happens if a woman has a medical problem during pregnancy that requires additional/individual attention?
Burtner: If a woman has a medical problem during her pregnancy that cannot be treated safely or appropriately within the group, she will be encouraged to have an individual office visit with a midwife.
Michele Burtner, CNM, MS, IBCLCis director of Group of midwives in UR medicine and has been a midwife for 14 years. She specializes in normal pregnancy, childbirth, gynecological care and has a particular interest in breastfeeding.
