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| Ranking |
Evidence-Based Practice |
| Description |
The Centering Pregnancy Program is designed to improve access of care among the Hispanic population and reduce racial disparities that currently exist in Palm Beach County, Florida. Centering provides ten, 2-hour group prenatal care sessions implemented during weeks 16 through 40 of pregnancy. Each prenatal group consists of 8-12 women of the same gestational age.
The program serves women receiving care at urban clinics that primarily serve low-income minority women at high risk for low birth weight and preterm delivery. Providers have more time for patient interaction in group prenatal care, allowing them to promote healthy pregnancy through psychological, social, and behavioral factors in addition to clinical care.
The women, who are grouped according to their stage of pregnancy, receive basic prenatal risk assessments, share support, and gain knowledge and skills related to pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. The sessions focus sequentially on topics such as nutrition, labor preparation, the birth experience, infant care and feeding, and postpartum adjustment. Women also learn self-care activities to track changes associated with pregnancy and receive individual assessments at each session.
This program is locally funded by Children Services Council of Palm Beach County. |
| Goal / Mission |
The goal of the program is to change the paradigm of health services to a group care model in order to improve the overall health outcomes of mothers, babies, new families and all individuals across the life cycle. |
| Results / Accomplishments |
A study was conducted by Johns Hopkins University of Medicine to evaluate the centering program. Between January 2008 and July 2009, 291 Latina women took part in the study: 199 were enrolled in the Centering group care intervention and 92 women were enrolled in the control group of standard 1-on-1 care. Results show that the group care intervention group had significantly less preterm births than the control group (p=0.04). The women in the intervention group were more likely to report being satisfied with their prenatal care, felt that they participated more actively in their prenatal care, and felt that they could talk to their prenatal care provider in their preferred language than women in the control group (p<0.001 for all). The study group was also more likely to have established a medical home for their child (p<0.01) than the control group. |
| Categories |
Health / Maternal, Fetal & Infant Health
Health / Women's Health
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| Organization(s) |
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies |
| Source |
Children Services Council of Palm Beach County |
| Date of Implementation |
2008 |
| Geographic Type |
Urban |
| Location |
City: Delray Beach, FL |
| Primary Contact |
Cathy Cohn
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies
500 Gulfstream Blvd. #201
Delray Beach, FL 33483
561-665-4500
bb_hmhb@bellsouth.net
http://hmhbpbc.org/programs/centering-program
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| For more details |
http://centeringhealthcare.org/pages/centering-...
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| Target Audience |
Women, Racial / Ethnic Minorities |
| Submitted By |
Children Services Council of Palm Beach County |
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