Mom Memoir - Keisha's Story
May 16, 2016 13:34:46 GMT -5
Tanya Munroe, Molly Ryan, and 1 more like this
Post by nlewis on May 16, 2016 13:34:46 GMT -5
Keisha's CenteringPregnancy care certainly left a mark - she happily shares her story TEN years later! Here are her wonderful words about her pregnancy with son, Mark.
I experienced CenteringPregnancy during my first pregnancy with my son. It was ten years ago! It was an exciting time because it was my first pregnancy and the also the first grandchild.
I signed up for CenteringPregnancy through my prenatal health care center, Forest Manor Health Center. I was working in maternal and child health at the Marion County Health Department and had heard of the program through Healthy Start. I decided to sign up because I had known about it through my work experience, and I wanted to see how effective it was for my pregnancy and provide feedback to my department.
I started attending during my second trimester. I would come in and have a health assessment which I got to be a part of by performing my own urinalysis and getting measured and weighed. This was a very important piece of the experience for me. It gave me some control and allowed me to be a clinician in my own care, which meant I was more vested in it. CenteringPregnancy was also more in depth than a traditional prenatal experience and incorporated many ways of learning. We didn’t have to wait for the provider and the visits started and ended on time. I appreciated that.
I looked forward to going and seeing the same group. We were all due within 6 weeks of each other. I enjoyed the open conversations and we followed a curriculum. Along with the curriculum was a notebook that we could take home and write in. It became my "Pregnancy Bible" and was something we could make notes in and then talk with other moms and the provider about it at the next visit.
The facilitators were great and dispelled many of the pregnancy myths out there. We could also ask those embarrassing or uncomfortable questions or hear questions and answers from other women and gain more information and insight on others experiences. I also liked how CenteringPregnancy encouraged breastfeeding...even just for 1 day. They were factual and honest about it - that it could be difficult but talked about the importance of sticking with it and provided us with resources for additional support. I breastfed my baby for 11 months, and I attribute his current good health to the breastfeeding experience.
After the babies in our group were born, we got together for a reunion and talked about our labor experiences and life after baby. We also brought our partners which allowed them to ask questions that they had. It was an amazing experience! I would definitely do it all over again and encourage women to participate in this type of prenatal care.
Me and my son Mark as an infant
Me & Mark in 2013
I experienced CenteringPregnancy during my first pregnancy with my son. It was ten years ago! It was an exciting time because it was my first pregnancy and the also the first grandchild.
I signed up for CenteringPregnancy through my prenatal health care center, Forest Manor Health Center. I was working in maternal and child health at the Marion County Health Department and had heard of the program through Healthy Start. I decided to sign up because I had known about it through my work experience, and I wanted to see how effective it was for my pregnancy and provide feedback to my department.
I started attending during my second trimester. I would come in and have a health assessment which I got to be a part of by performing my own urinalysis and getting measured and weighed. This was a very important piece of the experience for me. It gave me some control and allowed me to be a clinician in my own care, which meant I was more vested in it. CenteringPregnancy was also more in depth than a traditional prenatal experience and incorporated many ways of learning. We didn’t have to wait for the provider and the visits started and ended on time. I appreciated that.
I looked forward to going and seeing the same group. We were all due within 6 weeks of each other. I enjoyed the open conversations and we followed a curriculum. Along with the curriculum was a notebook that we could take home and write in. It became my "Pregnancy Bible" and was something we could make notes in and then talk with other moms and the provider about it at the next visit.
The facilitators were great and dispelled many of the pregnancy myths out there. We could also ask those embarrassing or uncomfortable questions or hear questions and answers from other women and gain more information and insight on others experiences. I also liked how CenteringPregnancy encouraged breastfeeding...even just for 1 day. They were factual and honest about it - that it could be difficult but talked about the importance of sticking with it and provided us with resources for additional support. I breastfed my baby for 11 months, and I attribute his current good health to the breastfeeding experience.
After the babies in our group were born, we got together for a reunion and talked about our labor experiences and life after baby. We also brought our partners which allowed them to ask questions that they had. It was an amazing experience! I would definitely do it all over again and encourage women to participate in this type of prenatal care.
Me and my son Mark as an infant
Me & Mark in 2013
