The Impact of Centering Pregnancy on the Rate of Preterm Birth at the Waco Family Health Center

Centering Pregnancy is a non-traditional model of prenatal care that aims to provide comprehensive care and education to patients with a facilitative approach in a group setting. The goal of this research is to determine whether patient participation in Centering Pregnancy plays a role in reducing the rate of preterm birth among patients at the Waco Family Health Center (FHC). In order to study this, the charts of 435 FHC patients who participated in Centering Pregnancy classes from 2014-2017 were analyzed and screened for eighteen individual risk factors. Patient charts were also screened for a “high-risk” diagnosis. The rate of premature birth was calculated and analyzed for correlations to the risk factors as well as other demographics. The rates of preterm birth among FHC Centering Pregnancy patients were lower than the average Texas and McLennan County rates. Though no conclusions about causation can be drawn, this research shows that Centering Pregnancy is a viable form of prenatal care for patients at the Waco Family Health Center. These results will aid the Family Health Center in assessing the efficacy of the Centering Pregnancy model of prenatal care as well as provide a baseline for future studies