Centering Yourself for a Healthy Pregnancy

You’re pregnant! So you get yourself a care provider, go for appointments monthly, then every other week, and then every week. You get about 15 minutes with your doctor or midwife, and you need to remember all of the questions you wanted to ask. Your appointments are brief, baby-centered, and professional. Doesn’t sound bad, but it could certainly be better. Enter “Centering.”

Centering is a fantastic, woman-centered model of prenatal care. A group of women, due at approximately the same time, have prenatal visits together. First they get individual time with their care provider, and then the whole group meets together with the clinician to talk about topics relevant to their current stage of pregnancy. They are also encouraged to take a more proactive role in their own care, such as taking their own weights and blood pressures, making women empowered in their care.

They also have a social network of other moms to rely on. The women support each other, learn from each other, and help each other. They become friends, whose connections may last through their babies’ childhoods. Women who are part of centering groups often feel more prepared for childbirth and parenthood, and feel more satisfied with their care than women in the traditional care models.

There are tremendous benefits to centering care, like fewer preterm labors, better breastfeeding rates, and better birth weights! Before the changes of modernity, pregnancy and birth were social events. We are reclaiming that model, and discovering that there are actual physiological benefits to both mothers and babies.

Learn more about centering here!