Centering Pregnancy Pilot Program
In collaboration with the Kasich Administration, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and with leadership from Senators Shannon Jones and Charleta Tavares, an expectant mothers’ program aims to combat Ohio’s abysmal infant mortality rates.Centering Pregnancy connects at-risk moms with prenatal care and a network of support designed to empower and encourage health-promoting behaviors.
Ohio’s infant mortality crisis has been making headlines as our state is among the worst in the nation. According to Ohio’s Office of Health Transformation, infant deaths – when a baby who is born alive dies within the first year of life – account for 63 percent of all childhood deaths in Ohio. ODH reports that Ohio ranks 50th in the U.S. in African-American infant mortality, meaning that African-American babies in Ohio are more likely to die before reaching their first birthday than their counterparts in any other state.
With a proven record of delivering high-quality, low-cost health care, coupled with a strong presence in vulnerable/highest need communities – including impoverished urban neighborhoods, small towns and rural counties where poverty and unemployment are historically high – Ohio’s Community Health Centers are poised and ready to use the Centering Pregnancy data-driven model with significant success.
Four Community Health Centers were selected through a competitive grant process to implement the two-year, FQHC Centering Pregnancy Demonstration project: Fiver Rivers Health Center (Dayton), Muskingum Valley Health Centers, Neighborhood Health Association (Toledo) and PrimaryOne Health (formerly Columbus Neighborhood Health Center).
Read Senator Jones’ press statement about SB 279 and the upcoming pilot program.
Centering Pregnancy
Centering Pregnancy is an evidence-based health care delivery model that integrates maternal health care assessment, education, and support. Patients meet with their care provider and other group participants for an extended period of time, at regularly scheduled visits over the course of their pregnancy. Centering promotes patient engagement and community-building, and has been shown to significantly improve infant health outcomes.Centering Pregnancy projects provide a safe place for expecting moms to share life experiences with other women who understand their situation, build a community of support, and provide positive peer encouragement to make healthy choices during their pregnancy. Through this unique model of care, women are empowered to choose health-promoting behaviors. Health outcomes for pregnancies, specifically increased birth weight and gestational age, and the satisfaction expressed by both the women and their providers, support the effectiveness of this model for the delivery of care.
The four FQHCs in this demonstration project are charged with improving birth outcomes by:
• Increasing breastfeeding rates
• Reducing low birth weights
• Reducing preterm birth rates
• Decreasing smoking rates during pregnancy
• Decreasing prenatal visit no show rates
• Postpartum visits completed by 80% of patients
• Increasing entry into prenatal care during the first trimester
In addition, the FQHCs must fully embrace the model as the primary option for receiving pre and postnatal care and partner with Ohio’s managed care plans. Centering Pregnancy is an evidence-based model of care with significant rates of success. Along with achieving improved patient outcomes also comes overall lower costs of care, the goal of this project is statewide implementation.
Other community health centers already involved in the program are:
Neighborhood Family PracticeWinMed
NEON
More Info on Centering Pregnancy
View all of Ohio’s centering pregnancy sites hereFAQs about the program
