CenteringPregnancy™ is a new way of delivering prenatal care. It is getting great reviews from patients and their health care providers nationally and locally. It is prenatal care that includes health assessment, education and support. Women with similar due dates meet for their prenatal visits with two co-facilitators about 10 times during their pregnancies in the same Centering room. Each session lasts for about two hours with no time in the waiting room. One of the facilitators is a nurse practitioner or physician assistant and the other is a nurse or childbirth educator. Healthy snacks are served at each group session.

Each patient has a brief check-up in a private corner of the room. Questions voiced during this period can be brought to the group for discussion. If the patient has any serious issues, a separate visit may be scheduled. Women actively participate in their own health care during each session by weighing themselves and taking their own blood pressures, supervised by a nurse or medical assistant.

After the health assessment has been completed, the women and the co-facilitators sit together and discuss some of the many issues related to pregnancy. Support is also an important part of CenteringPregnancy care. The women in the group give each other strength and often form friendships. CenteringPregnancy prenatal care is fun and helps mothers deliver healthier babies. Most participants agree that it is a great way to receive prenatal care!

To make an appointment for CenteringPregnancy prenatal care at the Guilford County Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Division (GCDHHS/PH) in Greensboro or High Point, please call 336-641-3245. To learn more about CenteringPregnancy or Centering healthcare, go to www.centeringhealthcare.org. To talk to someone about CenteringPregnancy at the GCDHHS/PH, call Catherine Richardson at 336-641-4777.