Strong Outcomes Shown In CenteringPregnancy®

BOSTON, May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CenteringPregnancy continues to result in positive health outcomes, as reported by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation's Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative in their third year report.

Over a period of four years, the initiative is testing group prenatal care, of which most of the awardees are using CenteringPregnancy or modeling their approach after CenteringPregnancy. According to the report, group prenatal care awardees reported preterm birth (PTB) and low birthweight rates that were better than state averages and historical rates for similar populations of women.

The University of Puerto Rico, one of the awardees, reported a 20% PTB rate for CenteringPregnancy enrollees which is a 41% difference compared to the PTB rate among patients receiving traditional prenatal care.  Similarly, Amerigroup of Louisiana's PTB rate decreased 35% from 15% at initiative launch to 9.7% in year three. These findings are aligned with what other published studies¹ have found.

"This report expands the research that CenteringPregnancy can reduce the risk of preterm birth, which is the number one cause of infant mortality in the U.S." says Angie Truesdale, CEO of Centering Healthcare Institute.

The awardees also noted other positive outcomes:

• More psycho-social support
• More patient-provider communication
• Better prenatal visit attendance, nutrition and overall health
• More holistic approach with patients

CenteringPregnancy brings 8-12 pregnant women into a group setting and follows the recommended schedule of ten prenatal visits. Each visit is 90 minutes to two hours long, giving patients ten times more time with their provider team versus individual prenatal care. The combination of health assessment, interactive activities and community building allows learning from the provider and from one another.

Centering Healthcare Institute is improving health by transforming care through Centering groups. It has developed and sustained the Centering model in more than 470 practice sites and in some of the largest health systems. For more information, visit www.centeringhealthcare.org.

The Strong Start for Mothers and Newborn Initiative is an effort between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Health Resources & Services Administration, and the Administration on Children & Families. For the full report, visit https://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/strong-start/.

¹Ickovics, et al. (2007) "Group prenatal care and perinatal outcomes: a randomized controlled trial." Picklesimer, Amy, et al. (2012) "The effect of CenteringPregnancy group prenatal care."

For more information: 
Nicole Lewis 
Communications Manager
Centering Healthcare Institute
857-284-7570
[email protected]

SOURCE Centering Healthcare Institute