Centering Pregnancy

Consider Receiving your Prenatal Care through CenteringPregnancy®

BMC is proud to offer CenteringPregnancy®, a model of group prenatal care. Instead of having your prenatal visits individually in an exam room, your group of 8-12 women, who are all due around the same time meet 10-12 times during pregnancy. Then, once more after babies are born for a postnatal visit and party. Visits are two hours long and offer a single bundled, comprehensive health visit including assessment, collaborative learning and social support. Participants spend significantly more time with their provider and create social networks with other pregnant moms due in the same month. We currently offer Centering in English and Spanish.

During each visit, you have one-on-one time with your provider to hear your baby’s heartbeat and ask private questions. The rest of the time is a spent discussing and learning about health topics related to your pregnancy.

How does Centering differ from individual exam room visits for prenatal care?

• No waiting: You do not need to stand in line to check in or wait for your appointment to start. When you get your prenatal care through Centering, you can go directly to the Centering room. Each group starts and ends on time.
• Interesting: Centering visits are not classes. They are an opportunity for you to explore the topics that matter most to you in a way that is fun!
• Supportive: Special bonds develop in Centering. Women tell us the group feels like a group of friends sharing common questions and the experiences of pregnancy, birth, and parenting.
• More time with your provider:  Each Centering visit is 2 hours. You get to spend about 10 times more time with your provider than if you saw your provider individually. 
• Privacy: At each Centering visit, you will have one-on-one time with your provider. Your personal health information is always kept private. You only share what you want to share with the group.
• Proven benefits: Studies show that women who participate in Centering are more satisfied with their care and feel more prepared for labor, birth, and parenting. Additional studies show a decrease in preterm birth and healthier birth weights for babies who are born premature.

If you’re interested in enrolling in a Centering Pregnancy group, call 617.414.2000.

If you want to read more about the Centering model, click here.