Centering Pregnancy

Centering Pregnancy is an approach to the care of pregnant women that alters the traditional model by bringing women out of examination rooms for the majority of their care.  The woman's involvement in self-care activities, the discussion and education format, the worksheets and handouts, and the sharing among the women all lead to her enhanced sense of empowerment.

The Shelby County Infant Mortality Initiative has secured funding for the Centering Pregnancy Program to be implemented in the HealthLoop Clinics.  A state-sponsored Centering Pregnancy workshop was held February 15 and 16, 2007 in Memphis.  Staff from the Hollywood, Cawthon, and Mid-South HealthLoop Clinics, and Memphis and Shelby County Health Department attended.  The workshop was held at the Urban Child Institute.  Data collected at Yale University regarding this program indicate that mothers who participate show an improvement in birth outcomes such as increased birth weight and a decrease in pre-term births.

To enhance pre-natal care at the HealthLoop Clinics, the Governor's Office of Children's Care Coordination also provided funding for new equipment essential to the practice of obstetric medicine for HealthLoop Clinics as well as funding for a Nurse Practitioner, Meris Marshall who will lead the first class of 14 mothers in the Centering Pregnancy Program, which is to begin on April 30, 2007, at the Mid-South HealthLoop Clinic.
 

Community Voice

The Community Voice program is scheduled to be funded in May 2007.  It is a partnership between state government, Shelby County Government, and The March of Dimes.  Community Voice is a consumer education program that stresses the importance of women's health during child bearing age. 

The three areas of focus are:

• Medical
• Behavioral
• Psychosocial