Journal Article

Does CenteringPregnancy Group Prenatal Care Affect the Birth Experience of Underserved Women? A Mixed Methods Analysis

Liu, Rhianon, Chao, Maria T., Duncan, Larissa G., Jostad-Laswell, Ariana

2017

Overview

We examined the birth experience of immigrant and minority women and how CenteringPregnancy (Centering), a model of group prenatal care and childbirth education, influenced that experience. In-depth interviews and surveys were conducted with a sample of racially diverse Centering participants about their birth experiences. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically. Study participants (n = 34) were primarily low-income, Spanish-speaking immigrants with an average age of 29.7. On a scale from 1 (not satisfied) to 10 (very satisfied), women reported high satisfaction with birth (9.0) and care (9.3). In interviews, they expressed appreciation for the choice to labor with minimal medical intervention. Difficulties with communication arose from fragmented labor and delivery care by multiple providers. Centering provided women with pain coping skills, a familiar birth attendant, and knowledge to advocate for themselves. High reported satisfaction may obscure challenges to providing high quality childbirth care for marginalized women. Further study should examine the potential of Centering to positively impact underserved women’s birth experiences.

• Publisher: Springer Science + Business Media,Springer US,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Adaptation, Psychological / Adult / Alaska Natives / Appreciation / Birth / Birth experiences / Childbirth & labor / Comparative Law / Continental Population Groups - statistics & numerical data / Coping / Coping skills / Curricula / Delivery, Obstetric - psychology / Ethnic Groups - statistics & numerical data / Experience / Female / Females / Gestational age / Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice - ethnology / Hispanic Americans / Hospitals / Humans / Immigrants / International & Foreign Law / Interviews / Labor / Labor Pain - ethnology / Language / Low Income / Low income groups / Marginality / Medicaid / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Midwifery / Minority & ethnic groups / Mothers / Noncitizens / Obstetrics / Original Paper / Other Articles / Outcome Measures / Pain / Patient Satisfaction - ethnology / Poverty / Pregnancy / Prenatal care / Prenatal Care - organization & administration / Prenatal education / Private International Law / Public Health / Qualitative research / Quality of care / Satisfaction / Socioeconomic Factors / Sociology / Spanish language / Studies / Teaching Methods / Trainees / Underserved populations / United States / Women / Womens health / Young Children