CenteringPregnancy is a prenatal care model combining education and individual health assessments in group settings for women at similar stages of pregnancy. A new evaluation by the Rutgers School of Public Health demonstrates that Centering fosters important social ties among expectant parents and provides opportunities for developing greater trust between health care providers and patients.
“I think for me being that first-time mom, I had a lot of – could I say misconceptions? – and I had this anxiety, fear,” one participant said. “I already had two miscarriages so, it’s been a journey. But being in CenteringPregnancy, I have this peace of mind…”
As part of efforts to reduce maternal health inequities in New Jersey with a focus on eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes, the Burke Foundation is making strategic investments to expand CenteringPregnancy throughout the state.
A private grantmaking organization based in Princeton, the Burke Foundation provided support to the Rutgers School of Public Health to design and implement a comprehensive evaluation of CenteringPregnancy in New Jersey. The evaluation included observations of sessions, focus groups and surveys with patients, interviews with providers and other healthcare site stakeholders, and an analysis of emergency medical record data for a subset of sites throughout the state. To read the full story.