meeting the urgent need for prenatal care
“Girl, look how big you are!” exclaims a young woman as she spots one of her fellow CenteringPregnancy® participants. The two women hug like old friends and sit down to chat about their pregnancies, an upcoming baby shower and how they’ve been feeling physically and emotionally in the two weeks since the group last convened. As they talk, eight more pregnant women file into the meeting room, their animated chatter punctuated by frequent peals of laughter. The occasion? Just a regular meeting of Erie’s CenteringPregnancy® program. Piloted at the Erie Teen Health Center in 2006 to meet the urgent need for comprehensive, cost-effective and culturally appropriate prenatal care in Erie’s service area, the program was an unequivocal success. Participants loved the emotionally supportive sessions, were more motivated to learn about topics related to prenatal health and well-being in the warm and welcoming group environment and developed close friendships with other group members that continued after the program ended. Erie’s expanded CenteringPregnancy® program takes expectant moms out of the isolation of the
Erie expanded its CenteringPregnancy® program to the Erie West Town Health Center in October 2008 and the Erie Humboldt Park Health Center in March 2009 with the generous support of the March of Dimes, Illinois Chapter and the Washington Square Health Foundation. Developed in the mid-1990s by a Connecticut midwife, this innovative program
exam room and into a
takes expectant moms out of the isolation of the exam room and into a vibrant group
vibrant group
setting where they can get the medical, social, emotional and educational supports
setting where they
they need.
can get the medical,
Each two-hour session consists of a private medical assessment, group
social, emotional and
education and activities that focus on peer support, stress management and self-esteem.
educational supports
During the group portion of the program, participants share their individual experiences
they need.
and learn about topics such as nutritional needs during pregnancy, how to prepare for childbirth, the importance of breastfeeding and coping techniques for new moms. Since its inception, the CenteringPregnancy® program has consistently
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