Centering Pregnancy® Program
Directions
The CenteringPregnancy® Program is located in Madigan Army Medical Center and can be reached by taking I-5 Exit 122, traveling straight on Jackson Avenue and then turning right onto Madigan Avenue to enter the Hospital Tower East Yellow Parking Lot. The CenteringPregnancy® Program classroom, Room 3-95-30 is located on the third floor north of the Hospital Tower.
About
Madigan is an accredited CenteringPregnancy® site and adheres to and follows the CenteringPregnancy® Program and all its critical elements. OB providers will discuss with expecting mothers at their first prenatal visit the CenteringPregnancy® Program. Patients can register during their first prenatal visit or later at the registration service located at the OB front desk.
CenteringPregnancy® is an extremely popular method of prenatal care that has been offered at Madigan since 2009. Through this unique model of care, women experience continuity of care with their prenatal provider for all of their prenatal visits and are empowered to choose health-promoting behaviors. CenteringPregnancy® is a nationally noted type of prenatal care that decreases the number of premature babies born and increases successful breast feeding rates.
CenteringPregnancy® groups provide a dynamic atmosphere for learning and sharing that is impossible to create in a one-to-one encounter and alters routine prenatal care by placing women in groups for appointments based on similar due dates. Women have their obstetrics registration into obstetrics care in the usual manner, then are invited to join with 6-13 other expectant mothers with similar due dates in meeting together regularly throughout their pregnancy.
The CenteringPregnancy® group participates in discussing topics of interest related to pregnancy, childbirth, parenting, and personal growth. Meeting with the same group has many advantages, like the sharing and development of a support network that often extends well into the child rearing period. Access to your prenatal care is limitless without any waiting to be checked in or to be seen for your appointment. Hearing other women share concerns which mirror their own helps the woman to normalize the whole experience of pregnancy. “…with my Centering group I knew I was not going through pregnancy alone”. Groups also are empowering as they provide support to the members and also increase individual motivation to learn and change.
CenteringPregnancy® is better care with a team approach to care that actively engages patients in goal setting, skill-building, and peer support. Provider facilitated group health care allows more time to explore important health topics. The model includes three components of care: assessment, learning, and community building.
CenteringPregnancy® is better health using evidence-based innovation that has been nationally recognized by leading healthcare experts because of the improved outcomes for important maternal child health factors including preterm birth rates, low birth weight rates, small for gestational age, breastfeeding rates, and immunization rates.