Group Prenatal Care and Perinatal Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of a collaborative interdisciplinary maternity care program on perinatal outcomes

“…As well, the CenteringPregnancy model of prenatal care has been shown to improve women's knowledge about pregnancy. 17 The frequency of cesarean delivery among wo men whose primary caregiver was a midwife or a family physician did not differ significantly between the groups. In the control group, 1.4 times as many women had an obstetrician as had a family physician as their primary care provider, and 4.4 times as many had an obstetrician as had a midwife.…”

“…After 2 or 3 one-on-one visits with a midwife or physician, during which a physical examination, ordering of laboratory tests, medical history-taking and genetic counselling have been completed as needed, women and their partners are invited to join group prenatal care, based on the CenteringPregnancy model. 17,18 Women may also opt to continue receiving care in a traditional one-on-one format, and about 20% of nulliparous women so choose. Groups are composed of 10-12 women and their partners who have an expected due date within 2 to 4 weeks.…”

CenteringPregnancy: Meeting the Quadruple Aim in Prenatal Care

“…Most striking of these is a reduced rate of preterm birth, one of most challenging and devastating adverse events in maternity care. In a 2007 randomized controlled trial, only 9.8% of women assigned to group prenatal care had a preterm birth compared with 13.8% of women in individual prenatal care, representing a 33% risk reduction [7]. Similarly, a 2012 retrospective analysis reported a 47% reduction in preterm birth among women receiving group prenatal care compared with those in traditional care [10].…”

“…These benefits may be related to the enhanced preparation for and promotion of activities and behaviors important to women's health that comprise this model. For example, several studies have shown increased breastfeeding rates among group prenatal care participants [7,8,11,12]. Increased attendance at postpartum visits among CenteringPregnancy participants, specifically within teen and Latina populations, has also been reported [13,14].…”

“…The CenteringPregnancy model improves the patient care experience in several ways [7][8][9]. First, the added time during visits allows for a dynamic dialogue between the women in the group and their providers; such dialogue would be difficult to achieve during a fast-paced individual visit.…”