MINOT, N.D. – The CenteringPregnancy Prenatal Care Program at CHI St. Alexius Health Dickinson was named the Outstanding Rural Health Program by the Center for Rural Health at its annual Dakota Conference Banquet on June 12th in Minot. The award honors a program that delivers services in innovative ways through collaborative partnerships to improve the access and quality of care to rural North Dakota residents.
The CenteringPregnancy group prenatal care program offers the same care as a traditional prenatal appointment, but also gives patients added educational time, opportunities to connect with other women in the same gestational stage, and extended time with prenatal providers.
The program has shown measurable decreases in pre-term labor rates, decreases in the number of unnecessary visits to the emergency room, and decreases in the rates of gestational diabetes. In addition, participating mothers are less likely to experience postpartum depression and are more likely to breastfeed their babies, reducing infant illness and reducing the cost to the patients and the rural healthcare system.
Click here to watch the video about CenteringPregnancy made by the Center for Rural Health.
Click here to learn more about CenteringPregnancy at CHI St. Alexius Health Dickinson.