FORT RILEY, Kan. - The Women's Health Center at Irwin Army Community Hospital hosted a Centering Pregnancy® Conference on May 8 to provide a model overview for physicians, nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives from across the Midwest and nearby military installations. This approach is used at IACH for prenatal care, and has received positive feedback from the participants.
The Centering Healthcare Institute, Inc., based out of Cheshire, Conn., conducted the two-day conference that focused on the basic principles underlying a group approach to parental care.
"We wanted health care providers to learn how to do centering through using a modeling approach," said Laurie Jurkiewixz, the CHI faculty member who facilitated the event.
The objective of the conference was to differentiate Centering Pregnancy® groups from other therapy, education and support groups.
"We wanted to totally shift the paradigm to allow nurse practitioners and midwives to experience being a part of the group versus being the facilitator," Jurkiewixz said.
Topics included the essential elements of centering groups, facilitative leadership skills and curriculum information.
The centering approach offers an alternative to exam room appointments for prenatal care. Centering Pregnancy® brings prenatal care into a group space where women receive education and support. It challenges women to take responsibility for their own health.
Women, couples and teens are invited to join groups with eight to 12 others with similar due dates. Groups initially form between 12 and 16 weeks of pregnancy and meet on a regular basis throughout the early postpartum period. Then, the groups gather on a monthly basis providing gestational age information. Finally, they meet bi-weekly until delivery.
Participants of the Centering Pregnancy® program are trained to engage in self-care activities. Mothers-to-be are taught to take and record blood pressure and weight in their own charts. They also learn how to estimate the gestational age of the baby.
Guest speakers are brought into the monthly group meetings to provide advice and education. Shared topics of interest for group discussion include pregnancy, childbirth, parenting and personal growth. The group sessions are designed to promote safety in facilitation and implementation and to provide scientific knowledge and use of methods proven to be effective in prenatal care. Patient-oriented care is provided throughout the centering process.
During individual meetings with a certified nurse midwife, physician or nurse practitioner, questions and concerns are discussed privately. The baby's routine growth and heartbeat are monitored.
Lt. Col. Sherri Franklin, chief nurse of Midwifery, facilitated IACH's first Centering Pregnancy® group of nine.
"The centering group that I facilitated was an excellent example of the positive impact the Centering Pregnancy® program can have," Franklin said. "My group consisted of two active duty Soldiers, three spouses of deployed Soldiers and one adolescent teen, all of diverse backgrounds, (who) were able to benefit from the experience and form lifetime bonds."
Participants said they realized the benefits of empowerment and community involvement.
"It was a great experience, especially with my husband deployed," said Satoris Culbertson, wife of 1st Lt. James Culbertson with Battery A, 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. "Everyone in the group was totally supportive and the meetings were very educational."
Franklin's group members, who all delivered babies in April and May, will gather for a reunion June 4 to show off their new arrivals and look back on shared experiences.
For more information on this program, call the IACH Women's Health Clinic staff at 239-7794.
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