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“The Centering Pregnancy Program at Montefiore offers a total-care approach that not only provides necessary prenatal medical care, evaluation, and monitoring, but also important educational information and emotional support at one of the most important times in a woman’s life,” says Peter S. Bernstein, MD, MPH, medical director of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Comprehensive Family Care Center of Montefiore Medical Center and Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “Centering Pregnancy is at the leading edge of a quiet revolution taking place in prenatal care.”
The Centering Pregnancy Program at Montefiore Medical Center is one of just 27 such programs in the nation. Startup funding for the Program at Montefiore was provided by a $23,000 grant from the Greater New York March of Dimes.
The Centering Pregnancy Program group model differs from traditional prenatal care in that the emphasis is on health empowerment. In the traditional approach, pregnant women visit their doctors for a 10-minute private exam followed by a five-minute discussion of the results, according to Dr. Bernstein. Women are left to educate themselves on how to take care of themselves during pregnancy and how to care for newborns. The result is that many women, especially in the inner city, fail to receive the proper prenatal education.
In this program, women learn the essentials and actively engage in their pregnancy. Within a group environment, they monitor – along with a medical professional – their fetus’s heartbeat and uterine growth. The women also complete self-assessment forms that serve as the basis for group discussions that follow the exams. “The education component of the Centering Pregnancy Program is extremely important,” Dr. Bernstein says. “The amount of information that can be presented in 90 minutes is much greater than what can be covered during a routine office visit to an obstetrician.”
The program starts with an initial, private obstetric examination and evaluation. Women with low-risk pregnancies have the option to join groups of eight to ten mothers-to-be who are due to give birth within four to six weeks of each other. Prior to every meeting, physicians and certified nurse midwives monitor each woman’s vital signs, blood and urine test results, and the progress of her pregnancy.
The program starts with an initial, private obstetric examination and evaluation. Women with low-risk pregnancies have the option to join groups of eight to ten mothers-to-be who are due to give birth within four to six weeks of each other. Prior to every meeting, physicians and certified nurse midwives monitor each woman’s vital signs, blood and urine test results, and the progress of her pregnancy.
The frequency of the program’s 10 sessions increases as the due date approaches – meeting monthly during the early stages of pregnancy and as frequently as weekly toward the end. As women have their children, they bring their newborns with them.
Program participants include first-time mothers-to-be as well as experienced mothers. Aixa Feliciano, who is expecting her second child, says she prefers the Centering Pregnancy Program to the traditional model of care. “It’s much better than one-on-one appointments with a doctor. Talking with other women about what you are going through and what you’ve been through really helps,” says Ms. Feliciano.
Ruth Sosa, another participant, appreciates the program’s educational aspects. “The program teaches you a lot about the baby’s health, much more than you can get in a regular doctor’s visit,” she says.
So far, Montefiore has launched four groups, with another group due to start in September. Mothers involved in the first group, which began in February, have begun to give birth. “One has already brought her baby back to the group, and it’s a good thing she did,” Dr. Bernstein says. “She was depressed and the group offered her a lot of support.”
Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is an internationally recognized leader in patient care, education, research and community services. Montefiore provides treatment programs for patients with all major illnesses and has distinguished centers of excellence in women’s health, children’s health, heart care, cancer care, and surgery.
The program is open to all women. For more information about the Centering Pregnancy Program, please contact Montefiore’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women’s Health at 1-888-MD WOMEN (1-888-639-6636).
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