A comparison of Latina women in CenteringPregnancy and individual prenatal care

Introduction: CenteringPregnancy is a prenatal care program that brings women together into small groups to receive their care and education. Currently, regarding CenteringPregnancy, there have been no publications that closely examined maternal weight, a limited number of studies that examined Latinas, and a need for more research that compares birth outcomes of women in CenteringPregnancy compared to women in individual care. Purpose: To compare pregnancy outcomes of Latina women who completed CenteringPregnancy in a public health clinic compared to women who completed individual care in the same clinic during the same time. Methods: Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to compare pregnancy outcomes and assess women's perceptions of care. A total of 487 patient charts extracted (treatment n= 247, comparison n=240) and 10 women who recently completed CenteringPregnancy and completed individual prenatal care in the past completed in person in-depth interviews. Results: There were no differences in infant birthweight or gestational-age-at-delivery between the groups. Women in CenteringPregnancy were 11 times more likely to receive adequate prenatal care and 2 times more likely to attend their postpartum visit compared to women in individual care. Women in CenteringPregnancy were more likely to gain too much weight during pregnancy and more likely to use formula-only to feed. Qualitative findings indicate that women who completed CenteringPregnancy were more satisfied with their care, received more education and support, felt more comfortable with their care, felt more prepared for labor and delivery, and felt more empowered to make decisions about their pregnancy and childbirth.