Centering Pregnancy celebrates one-year anniversary

By Randi Rourke Barreiro

AKWESASNE – St. Regis Mohawk Health Services quietly celebrated a milestone on Feb. 10, 2011. That day marked the first anniversary – or birthday, to be more precise – of its new model of prenatal care, Centering Pregnancy. And like new parents, the staff involved with Centering couldn’t be more proud.

“We took on a monumental challenge in shifting the ‘old’ model, and we’re succeeding,” said Debra Martin, Health Director at SRMHS. “We want to celebrate that.”

So Martin and the Centering Pregnancy steering committee will host a luncheon in honor of all “Centered Moms” and their babies on Feb. 28 to celebrate the program’s first year. Guest speakers include Katsi Cook, a traditional midwife whose First Environment Collaborative was instrumental in the implementation of Centering; Beverly Cook, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Martin, both champions of the new model of care at the tribal health facility. A few of the moms who participated in Centering during its first year have been invited to speak as well.

A national model based on continuous healing relationships, Centering creates a safe and confidential learning environment in which the patients, not the provider, are the source of control. This is important, says Beverly Cook, a former obstetrical nurse, because research indicates that women who are knowledgeable about the birth process find the experience more rewarding. Many of SRMHS’s Centered Moms have reported positive experiences in their own post-delivery evaluations.

The benefits do not end there, says Cook. “Centering Pregnancy is helping to rebuild the supportive connections between women in our community,” connections that she sees as critical to overall community health and wellbeing. “Sharing experience, information and support around a circle of peers is what we’ve always done as women,” says Cook. “It works.”

The luncheon will take place at LJ’s banquet hall on Feb.

28, 2011 from 11:30 to 1:30 pm. Moms will be presented with a gift and a group photo is planned.

Photos by SRM Health Services