The CenteringPregnancy® Program alters routine prenatal care by bringing women out of exam rooms and into groups for their care. Women have their initial intake into their obstetric care in the usual manner with history and physical examination occurring within the office/clinic space. Then they are invited to join with 8-12 other women/couples/teens with similar due dates in meeting together regularly during their pregnancy. The groups form between 12 and 16 weeks of pregnancy and continue through the early postpartum period meeting every month for the first four months and then bi-weekly.

As women come to the group they engage in the self-care activities of weight and blood pressure, estimation of gestation age and recording on their chart.

Together with other group members they share in discussing  topics of interest related to pregnancy, childbirth, parenting, and personal growth.

Groups are facilitated by the practitioner or a professional skilled in group leadership and knowledgeable of the topics. The opportunity to meet together for ten, ninety minute sessions with the same group of expectant parents allows for continued sharing and development of a support network which often extends well into the childrearing period. These fifteen hours together over several months also provide the  practitioner with an extraordinary opportunity to observe and interact with the women/couples in the group. There are many benefits of the program for clients, professionals and agencies.

The CenteringPregnancy® Program is a model of empowerment: empowerment to women to take control of their bodies, their pregnancies, and their families, and empowerment to health care providers to share their care-giving with their clients.                  "'Cause when you get to know everybody,                          you get to care about everybody."

CenteringPregnancy®

With a practitioner, they listen to their baby's heart beat, check for uterine growth, and talk individually about specific problems and concerns. They complete self-assessment sheets that serve as a stimulus for the subsequent group discussions.

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