Greenville Health System – CenteringPregnancy®

Overview

South Carolina suffers from a high rate of preterm birth, with 11.1 percent of women delivering prior to 37 weeks gestational age. Infants born preterm are at risk for lifelong neurosensory and neurocognitive disabilities. There is also a tremendous racial disparity in rates of prematurity, with 13.9 percent of African-American women in South Carolina delivering preterm. CenteringPregnancy® is group prenatal care – all the prenatal care a woman needs, in a group with other women who are due in the same month. Research shows that Centering patients are less likely to have preterm births compared with patients in individual care.

Impact

Through a competitive application process and with funding from the March of Dimes and the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the program has trained 142 physicians and nurse midwives representing 14 practices across the state. Patients have also embraced CenteringPregnancy. Approximately 2,300 women have participated since the project began, with new groups meeting every day. The rate of preterm birth for all of these women is 8.3 percent. For African-American women, the preterm birth rate is 10.3 percent. These rates are substantially lower than state averages.

It is anticipated that 1,600 women will participate in CenteringPregnancy annually, representing 6 percent of Medicaid-eligible births in South Carolina. Initial outcomes show decreased rates of preterm births, fewer low-birthweight infants, decreased racial disparities in preterm births, and fewer admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The program has prevented 92 preterm births, 104 low-birthweight infants, and 77 admissions to the NICU ($7.2 million in savings).

Lessons Learned

CenteringPregnancy is a paradigm shift in prenatal care, one that effectively addresses the complex social determinants of health that low-income women face. It empowers women, connects them to each other, and fosters their strengths. By preventing preterm births, it makes a lasting contribution not only to individual families but also to the future health and productivity of the next generation. Improving birth outcomes impacts the entire life course, and is a particularly powerful tool to mitigate racial disparities in health, education and employment.

Future Goals

Future goals include continuing to expand the model across South Carolina with the support of funding.

Contact: Jennifer Snow
Director, Accountable Communities
Telephone: 864-797-7854
Email: jsnow@ghs.org