Mothers Empowered CenteringPregnancy®

Pregnancy is a very exciting time in a woman’s life, but it can also be a scary time with a lot of questions and uncertainties. Women in the Miami Valley region who want to try a unique and innovative model of prenatal care that focuses on support and education during pregnancy can find that care at Lifestages Centers for Women.

 

The Mothers Empowered approach to prenatal care follows a national model of care called CenteringPregnancy® which is governed by the Centering Healthcare Institute. Lifestages has been a certified CenteringPregnancy® site since 2012

Mothers Empowered CenteringPregnancy® offers high-quality, consistent prenatal care in a group setting determined by a patient’s due date.

These prescheduled appointments start out every four weeks, then become more frequent until the end of pregnancy, allowing patients to know the exact date and time of all future appointments throughout the entire pregnancy. It also allows patients extended time with their OB care provider (around 90-120 minutes) while enjoying healthy snacks and socializing with other women who are due around the same time as them.

Mothers Empowered uses a facilitative approach to educate women during each group appointment about topics that are important before, during and after pregnancy. A few of these topics include discomforts of pregnancy, breastfeeding, family spacing, comfort measures for labor, completing a birth plan and deciding on the type birth they would like to have (including waterbirth), postpartum depression, newborn care, caring for yourself postpartum and many more.

These group appointments not only provide excellent prenatal and postpartum care, but they help women to feel more confident and to be more proactive in their own healthcare. Lifestages has seen a reduction in preterm birth rates and an increase in breastfeeding rates, and an increase in patient satisfaction in the mothers who choose Mothers Empowered appointments for their prenatal care.

Lifestages has created an open, welcoming atmosphere to help put new moms at ease. Some women may feel uncomfortable talking in front of others at first, but after a few appointments, everyone begins to open up, sharing more about themselves and learning more about others in their group.

After the birth of their babies, these mothers come back to Lifestages with their new babies for a “postpartum party,” allowing them time for a postpartum checkup and an opportunity to see how the other women in their group are doing since the birth of their babies.

Mothers Empowered is a partnership between the Good Samaritan Foundation and Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley (CSSMV), allowing for extra support and additional resources, if needed.

CSSMV recently began a postnatal group on the second Thursday of each month from 1-3 pm at Lifestages to allow our new mothers time to receive helpful parenting advice plus added support from other moms.

If you would like more information on how you can be a part of Mothers Empowered during pregnancy, contact Lifestages at 937-277-8988, ext. 4114, and ask for Lorrie.

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