Overview
Cleveland Clinic is committed to providing the community with the finest medical services. We offer CenteringPregnancy prenatal care so that your care during pregnancy can happen in a comfortable group setting.
At Cleveland Clinic, we strongly believe in the core goals of CenteringPregnancy: to help promote overall health and well-being, provide important education about the pregnancy process, as well as create a unique experience for you during your pregnancy.
CenteringPregnancy is patient-centered care that follows national guidelines recognized by hospitals around the country. The visit schedule, which consists of 10 group appointments between 90 minutes and 2 hours, provides the flexibility and time to explore health and wellness topics that might not be covered as extensively in a normal one on one prenatal visit. On average CenteringPregancy programs means that you could get ten times longer with a provider. Receiving healthcare in a group setting can also lead to greater engagement, learning, and self-confidence.
Why Is a Group Setting Beneficial?
National data has shown that CenteringPregnancy decreases the rate of preterm and low weight babies, increases breastfeeding rates, and leads to better pregnancy spacing. Black women, who are at higher risk for preterm birth in the US, also experience lower risk of preterm birth when enrolled in CenteringPregnancy than in traditional care.
CenteringPregnancy visits also allow more time for interaction which often identifies needs amongst group members. This allows for more timely intervention and referral to appropriate specialists and resources.
What To Expect With Group Prenatal Care
CenteringPregnancy is a group-based approach to prenatal care developed by the Centering Healthcare Institute. It combines traditional pregnancy checkups with additional time and support in a group setting.
How it works
You’ll be part of a group of 8 to 10 expecting parents, led by a trained prenatal care provider. Each Centering session lasts between 90 minutes and two hours, and follows a regular prenatal schedule throughout your pregnancy.
Centering sessions replace traditional individual prenatal visits — they are not additional classes. Because the Centering schedule aligns with the typical prenatal care timelines, you only need a few individual visits outside of the group sessions.
Here’s what you’ll do
- Take an active role in your care: You’ll learn how to monitor your weight, blood pressure and other key health indicators important for a healthy pregnancy.
- Build self-care skills: You’ll gain confidence as you strengthen your understanding of your body, your pregnancy and your baby’s development.
- Join meaningful conversations: You’ll participate in guided pregnancy and parenting discussions on topics like nutrition, breastfeeding, stress management, labor preparation and newborn care.
- Receive personalized care: You’ll continue to receive private, one-on-one health check-ins with your provider. Even in a group setting, each Centering session is considered your prenatal visit.
Why Centering sessions are beneficial
- More time with your provider: Centering sessions offer more face-to-face time with your provider than traditional prenatal visits. This allows for deeper conversations and personalized support.
- Supportive community: You can share experiences, ask questions and learn alongside other expecting parents. Everyone benefits from the collective wisdom of the group.
- Integrative care: CenteringPregnancy offers more than traditional prenatal care. It supports your whole well-being, including your physical, emotional, social and behavioral health.
- Support for you and your partner: We encourage your partner or support person to join you for group sessions. They’ll receive the same valuable health information, emotional support and community connection — helping to strengthen your support system and prepare you both for the journey into parenthood.
- Whole-person wellness: Group sessions promote emotional connection, reduce isolation and offer a safe space to express concerns.
Our Team
Susan Hudson, CMN
Director of Midwifery and CenteringPregnancy
Toni Mcdougald, CNP
Centering Coordinator
Jennifer Savitski, MD
Physician Lead CenteringPregnancy at Akron General
Melissa Solomon
Centering Coordinator at Akron General
CenteringPregnancy Group Locations
For more information about CenteringPregnancy in Northeast Ohio, please call 216.491.7200 or email CenteringPregnancy@ccf.org. For more information about groups at Akron General, please call 330.344.7666 or email CCAGCentering@ccf.org.
Locations
CenteringPregnancy groups are currently offered at these locations:
Akron General Akron Health Center
676 South Broadway St.
Akron, OH 44311
330.344.7666
CCAGCentering@ccf.org
Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Medical Office Building
1450 Belle Ave.
Lakewood, OH 44107
216.237.6300
Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Medical Office Building A
4200 Warrensville Center Rd. Suite 215
Warrensville Heights, Oh, 44122
216.491.0141
Cleveland Clinic Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center
13944 Euclid Ave., East
Cleveland, OH 44112
216.767.4242
Cleveland Clinic Westlake Medical Campus
850 Columbia Rd.
Westlake, OH 44145
440.835.3883
Wooster Milltown Specialty and Surgery Center
721 East Milltown Rd.
Wooster, Ohio 44691
330.287.4500
Groups
How To Choose a Group
CenteringPregnancy groups are organized by due dates so that participants are at similar stages of pregnancy. Groups are flexible, but to get the most out of the experience, join a group around your 10th to 20th week of pregnancy.
Here’s a typical schedule of sessions:
- Session 1: 12–16 weeks
- Session 2: 16–20 weeks
- Session 3: 20–24 weeks
- Session 4: 24–28 weeks
- Session 5: 26–30 weeks
- Session 6: 28–32 weeks
- Session 7: 30–34 weeks
- Session 8: 32–36 weeks
- Session 9: 34–38 weeks
- Session 10: 36–40 weeks
Your provider or Centering Coordinator (CenteringPregnancy@ccf.org) will help you select the group that best matches your due date. Space is limited. Scheduling early guarantees your spot and allows you to attend the full series, so you can get the most benefit.
Groups
Dates are subject to change. For more information about CenteringPregnancy or to find additional information about current Centering groups, please email CenteringPregnancy@ccf.org.
Lakewood Medical Building - Currently no scheduled groups
216.237.6300
Westlake Medical Campus Building A
440.835.3883
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #51 with Dawn Dulin, CNM and Renae Shire, CNM on these Saturdays at 10:15 a.m.
Due Dates through March 2026
- August 23 - Session 1
- September 27 - Session 2 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- October 25 - Session 3 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- November 22 - Session 4 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- December 13 - Session 5
- December 27 - Session 6 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- January 10 - Session 7
- January 24 - Session 8 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- February 14 - Session 9
- February 28 - Session 10 (Renae Shire, CNM)
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #52 with Renae Shire, CNM on these Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.
Due Dates through mid-March 2026
- August 28 - Session 1
- September 25 - Session 2
- October 23 - Session 3
- November 20 - Session 4
- December 4 - Session 5
- December 18 - Session 6
- January 8 - Session 7
- January 22 - Session 8
- February 5 - Session 9
- February 19 - Session 10
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #53 with Dr. Collins, on these Tuesdays at 10 a.m.
Due Dates through early April 2026
- September 23 - Session 1
- October 21 - Session 2
- November 18 - Session 3
- December 16 - Session 4
- December 30 - Session 5
- January 13 - Session 6
- January 27 - Session 7
- February 10 - Session 8
- February 24 - Session 9
- March 10 - Session 10
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #54 with Renae Shire, CNM on these Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.
Due Dates through mid-June 2026
New Dates
- December 11 - Session 1/2
- January 15 - Session 3
- February 12 - Session 4
- February 26 - Session 5
- March 12 - Session 6
- March 26 - Session 7
- April 9 - Session 8
- April 23 - Session 9
- May 7 - Session 10
- May 21 - tentative session
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #55 with Dawn Dulin, CNM and Renae Shire, CNM on these Saturdays at 8:15 a.m.
Due Dates through mid-May 2026
- October 11 - Session 1 10:15 a.m. (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- November 8 - Session 2 10:15 a.m. (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- December 13 - Session 3 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- January 10 - Session 4 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- January 24 - Session 5 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- February 14 - Session 6 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- February 28 - Session 7 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- March 14 - Session 8 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- March 28 - Session 9 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- April 11 - Session 10 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- April 25 - tentative (Renae Shire, CNM)
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #56 with Dr. Collins, on these Tuesdays at 10 a.m.
Due Dates through mid-August 2026
- February 3 - Session 1
- March 3 - Session 2
- March 31 - Session 3
- April 28 - Session 4
- May 12 - Session 5
- May 26 - Session 6
- June 9 - Session 7
- June 23 - Session 8
- July 7 - Session 9
- July 21 - Session 10
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #57 with Renae Shire, CNM on these Thursdays at 10 a.m.
Due Dates through August 2026
New Dates
- February 12 - Session 1 (1 p.m. this day only)
- March 19 - Session 2
- April 16 - Session 3
- May 14 - Session 4
- May 28 - Session 5
- June 11 - Session 6 (Tamara Noy, CNM)
- June 25 - Session 7
- July 9 - Session 8
- July 23 - Session 9
- August 6 - Session 10
- August 20 - tentative
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #58 with Dawn Dulin, CNM and Renae Shire, CNM on these Saturdays at 10:15 a.m.
Due Dates through mid-October 2026
- March 14 - Session 1 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- April 11 - Session 2 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- May 9- Session 3 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- June 13 - Session 4 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- June 27 - Session 5 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- July 11 - Session 6 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- July 25 - Session 7 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- August 8 - Session 8 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- August 22 - Session 9 (Renae Shire, CNM)
- September 12- Session 10 (Dawn Dulin, CNM)
- September 26- tentative (Renae Shire, CNM)
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center (2nd floor conference room)
216.767.4242
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center CenteringPregnancy Group #31 with Najma Ibrahim, CNM on these Tuesdays at 1 p.m.
Due dates through June 2026
- December 16 - Session 1
- January 13 - Session 2
- February 10 - Session 3
- March 10 - Session 4
- March 24 - Session 5
- April 7 - Session 6
- April 21 - Session 7
- May 5 - Session 8
- May 19 - Session 9
- June 2 - Session 10
South Pointe Medical Office Building A (Entrance #2)
216.491.0141
South Pointe CenteringPregnancy Group #36 with Fran Jackson, CNM on these Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
Due dates through early April 2026
- September 10 - Session 1
- October 8 - Session 2
- November 5 - Session 3
- December 10 - Session 4
- January 7 - Session 5
- January 21 - Session 6
- February 4 - Session 7
- February 18 - Session 8
- March 4 - Session 9
- March 18 - Session 10
South Pointe CenteringPregnancy Group #37 with Fran Jackson, CNM and Tamara Noy, CNM on these Fridays at 10 a.m.
Due dates through early July 2026
New Dates
- December 12 - Session 1
- January 9 - Session 2
- February 6 - Session 3
- March 6 - Session 4
- March 20 - Session 5
- April 3 - Session 5
- April 17 - Session 6
- May 1 - Session 7
- May 15 - Session 8
- May 29 - Session 9
- June 5 - Session 10
- June 19 - tentative
South Pointe CenteringPregnancy Group #38 with Fran Jackson, CNM on these Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
Due dates through mid-August 2026
- January 14 - Session 1
- February 11 - Session 2
- March 18 - Session 3 (1 p.m. this day only)
- April 8 - Session 4
- May 6 - Session 5
- May 20 - Session 6
- June 3 - Session 7
- June 17- Session 8
- July 1 - Session 9
- July 15- Session 10
- July 29 - tentative
Wooster Family Health Center
330.287.4500
Wooster CenteringPregnancy group #8 with Jessica Costa, CNM and Courtney Plotts, CNM at 2:30 p.m. on these Wednesdays
Due dates through mid-May 2026
- November 18 - Session 1 (Jessica Costa, CNM *Tuesday)
- December 17 - Session 2 (Courtney Plotts, CNMP/Terrie)
- January 14 - Session 3 (Courtney Plotts, CNM)
- January 28 - Session 4 (Jessica Costa, CNM)
- February 11 - Session 5 (Jessica Costa, CNM)
- February 25 - Session 6 (Courtney Plotts, CNM)
- March 11 - Session 7 (Courtney Plotts, CNM)
- March 25 - Session 8 (Jessica Costa, CNM)
- April 8 - Session 9 (Provider TBD)
- April 22 - Session 10 (Provider TBD)
Wooster Centering Pregnancy group #9 with Jessica Costa, CNM and Courtney Plotts, CNM at 2:30 p.m. on these Wednesdays
Due dates through mid-July 2026
- February 4 - Session 1 (Courtney Plotts, CNM)
- March 4 - Session 2 (Courtney Plotts, CNM)
- April 1 - Session 4
- April 14 Session 5 (*Tuesday)
- April 29 - Session 6
- May 13 - Session 7
- May 27 - Session 8
- June 10 - Session 9
- June 24 - Session 10
