Women's experiences of group antenatal care in Australia--the CenteringPregnancy Pilot Study.

to describe the experiences of women who were participants in the Australian CenteringPregnancy Pilot Study. CenteringPregnancy is an innovative model of care where antenatal care is provided in a group environment. The aim of the pilot study was to determine whether it would be feasible to implement this model of care in Australia. a descriptive study was conducted. Data included clinical information from hospital records, and antenatal and postnatal questionnaires. two metropolitan hospitals in Sydney, Australia. 35 women were recruited to the study and 33 ultimately received all their antenatal care (eight sessions) through five[CH(1)] CenteringPregnancy groups. difficulties with recruitment within a short study timeline resulted in only 35 (20%) of 171 women who were offered group antenatal care choosing to participate. Most women chose this form of antenatal care in order to build friendships and support networks. Attendance rates were high and women appreciated the opportunity and time to build supportive relationships through sharing knowledge, ideas and experiences with other women and with midwives facilitating the groups. The opportunity for partners to attend was identified as important. Clinical outcomes for women were in keeping with those for women receiving standard care; however, the numbers were small. the high satisfaction of the women suggests that CenteringPregnancy is an appropriate model of care for many women in Australian settings, particularly if recruitment strategies are addressed and women's partners can participate. CenteringPregnancy group antenatal care assists women with the development of social support networks and is an acceptable way in which to provide antenatal care in an Australian setting. Recruitment strategies should include ensuring that practitioners are confident in explaining the advantages of group antenatal care to women in early pregnancy. Further research needs to be conducted to implement this model of care more widely.

Teate A ，Leap N ，Rising SS ，Homer CS ... -  《-》

Midwives' experiences of becoming CenteringPregnancy facilitators: a pilot study in Sydney, Australia.

A pilot study was undertaken between 2006 and 2008 to explore the feasibility of implementing the CenteringPregnancy model of group antenatal care in Australia. The study was undertaken at two hospital antenatal clinics and two community healthcare centres in southern Sydney. This paper reports on one arm of the pilot study, known as the 'Midwives' Study', which aimed to explore the experiences of the midwives as they moved from providing traditional one-to-one antenatal care to facilitating group antenatal care. The Australian pilot study used Action Research. Eight midwives, the group facilitators, and three researchers formed the Action Research group. A qualitative descriptive approach was undertaken to describe the experiences of the midwives. Data were collected using focus groups, surveys and checklists and analysed using thematic content analysis. The midwives' initial fears and misgivings about undertaking the new role of group antenatal care gave way to a growing confidence in their abilities and group facilitation skills. They appreciated: the benefits of the CenteringPregnancy model for pregnant women; new opportunities to develop positive relationships with women and their colleagues; and the structured support and education throughout all stages of the Action Research process. The midwives were enthusiastic about their experiences of becoming CenteringPregnancy facilitators and described the benefits of this model of care compared to traditional one-to-one antenatal care. Support and education of the midwives through structured Action Research cycles enhanced the effective implementation of this new model.

Teate A ，Leap N ，Homer CS 《-》

Group antenatal care: new pedagogic method for antenatal care--a pilot study.

to investigate how women who attended group antenatal care experienced the information they received, compared with women who attended traditional antenatal care, and their satisfaction with the form of care. The aim was also to determine the effect of group antenatal care on women's social networks compared with traditional antenatal care. a pilot study with an intervention group (group antenatal care) and a control group (traditional antenatal care). Both groups were selected through informed choice. A questionnaire and a follow-up telephone call, using a structured questionnaire, were used to evaluate both groups. for each woman who had chosen to be in the intervention group, two women who had chosen traditional antenatal care were selected from the same antenatal clinic and given the same questionnaire. 35/45 (77%) women in the intervention group returned a completed questionnaire, compared with 40/85 (48%) women in the control group. There was little difference in satisfaction with information between the two groups, and overall satisfaction was high. at six months post partum, the women who attended group antenatal care still met others from the group more regularly than the women who attended traditional antenatal care. group antenatal care is well accepted by women, and can better utilise midwives' time.

Wedin K ，Molin J ，Crang Svalenius EL 《-》

CenteringPregnancy and the current state of prenatal care.

Novick G 《-》

CATCH: development of a home-based midwifery intervention to support young pregnant smokers to quit.

Bryce A ，Butler C ，Gnich W ，Sheehy C ，Tappin DM ... -  《-》