Overview
Cleveland Clinic is committed to providing the community with the finest medical services. We offer CenteringPregnancy prenatal care in order to bring our expecting patients out of the exam room and into 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 patients who are expecting.
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 give pregnant patients 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, creating an opportunity to design sustainable prenatal services that can reduce racial disparities of pregnancy outcomes in minority communities.
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
Group prenatal care has long been used successfully to provide important health information to those expecting. Developed by the Centering Healthcare Institute, CenteringPregnancy has created standardized guidelines for health centers to follow, including providing pregnant people with the ability to be engaged in their own care, teaching them how to check their weight, blood pressure and other health levels, as well as the health of their unborn child through fetal heart rate checks.
In addition to building important self-care skills, CenteringPregnancy facilitates important group discussion between expecting patients in group sizes of 8 to 12, along with a prenatal provider. These group meetings can be between 90 minutes and 2 hours and discuss a variety of wellness topics. Each session is intended to provide support to participants, while allowing for open discussion about pregnancy questions or concerns.
Group prenatal care also permits more time for interaction with a pregnancy specialist, which can help address psychological, social, and behavioral factors that affect your healthy pregnancy.
| Week of Session | Gestational Age | Session Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | 12-16 weeks | Prenatal testing, body changes during pregnancy, back health, common discomforts, healthy lifestyle choices |
| Session 2 | 16-20 weeks | Personal goals, nutrition, oral health |
| Session 3 | 20-24 weeks | Relaxation and managing stress, breastfeeding |
| Session 4 | 24-28 weeks | Family planning, sexuality, domestic violence, preterm labor |
| Session 5 | 26-30 weeks | Labor preparation, pain management in labor, signs of labor |
| Session 6 | 28-32 weeks | The birth experience, labor decisions |
| Session 7 | 30-34 weeks | Early newborn care, choosing pediatric care, circumcision, sibling preparation |
| Session 8 | 32-36 weeks | Parenting, kick counts, postpartum depression and anxiety, emotional adjustments |
| Session 9 | 34-38 weeks | Newborn safety, infant massage |
| Session 10 | 36-40 weeks | Newborn care, growth and development, postpartum |
Our Team
Susan Hudson, CMN
Director of Midwifery and CenteringPregnancy
Toni Mcdougald, CNP
Centering Coordinator
Jennifer Savitski, MD
Physician Lead CenteringPregnancy at Akron General
Holly Carder
Centering Coordinator at Akron General
Appointments & Locations
For more information about CenteringPregnancy or to find additional information about current Centering groups, please email CenteringPregnancy@ccf.org or leave a voicemail at 216.491.7200.
Locations
CenteringPregnancy group appointments are currently offered at these locations:
Akron General Akron Health Center
676 South Broadway St.
Akron, OH 44311
330.344.7666
Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Medical Office Building
1450 Belle Ave.
Lakewood, OH 44107
216.237.6300
Cleveland Clinic Lorain Family Health Center - CenteringPregnancy and CenteringPediatrics Group Location
5700 Cooper Foster Park Rd.
Lorain, OH 44053
Schedule from Amherst Family Health Center
440.282.7420
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
Cleveland Clinic Willoughby Hills Family Health Center
2570 Som Center Rd.
Willoughby Hills, OH 44094
440.943.2500
Fairview Westown Physician Center
10654 Lorain Ave.
Cleveland, Ohio 44111
216.941.8888
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
216.237.6300
Lakewood CenteringPregnancy Group #48 with Susan Hudson, CNM on these Saturdays at 8:30 a.m.
Due dates through February/March 2025
- August 17- Session 1
- September 21 - Session 2
- October 19 - Session 3
- November 16 - Session 4
- December 7 - Session 5
- December 21 - Session 6
- January 4 - Session 7
- January 18 - Session 8
- February 1 - Session 9
- February 15 - Session 10
- March 1 - tentative
Lakewood CenteringPregnancy Group #49 with Susan Hudson, CNM on these Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.
Due dates through June/Early July 2025
- December 21 - Session 1
- January 4 - Session 2
- February 1 - Session 3
- March 1 - Session 4
- March 15 - Session 5
- April 5 - Session 6
- April 19 - Session 7
- May 3 - Session 8
- May 17 - Session 9
- June 7 - Session 10
- June 21- tentative
Westlake Medical Campus Building A
440.835.3883
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #42 with Renae Shire, CNM on these Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.
Due Dates through January 2025
New Dates
- July 18 - Session 1
- August 15 - Session 2
- September 12 - Session 3
- October 10 - Session 4
- October 24 - Session 5
- November 7 - Session 6
- November 21 - Session 7
- December 5 - Session 8
- December 19 - Session 9
- January 9 - Session 10
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #43 with Dawn Dulin, CNM on Saturdays at 8:15 a.m.
Due Dates through April 2025
New Dates and Times
- October 12 - Session 1
- November 9 - Session 2
- December 14 - Session 3
- January 11 - Session 4
- January 25 - Session 5
- February 8 - Session 6
- February 22 - Session 7
- March 8 - Session 8
- March 22 - Session 9
- April 12 - Session 10
- April 26 - tentative
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #44 with Renae Shire, CNM on these Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.
Due Dates through April 2025
- October 17 - Session 1
- November 14 - Session 2
- December 12 - Session 3
- January 9 - Session 4
- January 23 - Session 5
- February 6 - Session 6
- February 20 - Session 7
- March 6 - Session 8
- March 20 - Session 9
- April 3 - Session 10
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #45 with Dawn Dulin, CNM on these Saturdays at 10:15 a.m.
Due Dates through May 2025
New Dates and Times
- December 14- Session 1
- January 11 - Session 2
- February 8 - Session 3
- March 8 - Session 4
- March 22 - Session 5
- April 12 - Session 6
- April 26 - Session 7
- May 10 - Session 8
- TBD - Session 9
- June 14 - Session 10
Columbia Rd. CenteringPregnancy group #46 with Renae Shire, CNM on these Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.
Due Dates through July 2025
- January 16 - Session 1
- February 13- Session 2
- March 13- Session 3
- April 17- Session 4
- May 1- Session 5
- May 15 - Session 6
- May 29 - Session 7
- June 12- Session 8
- June 26 - Session 9
- July 3- Session 10
Lorain Family Health Center - No Current CenteringPregnancy Groups
440.282.7420
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center (2nd floor conference room)
216.767.4242
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center group #29 with Claire Hamp, CNM on these Mondays at 1 p.m.
Due Dates through April 2025
- September 16- Session 1
- October 14 - Session 2
- November 11 - Session 3
- December 16 - Session 4
- January 6 - Session 5
- January 20 - Session 6
- February 3 - Session 7
- February 17 - Session 8
- March 10 - Session 9
- March 17 - Session 10
South Pointe Medical Office Building A (Entrance #2)
216.491.0141
South Pointe CenteringPregnancy Group #32 with Fran Jackson, CNM on these Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
Due dates through February/March 2025
- August 21 - Session 1
- September 25 - Session 2
- October 23 -Session 3
- November 20- Session 4
- December 18 - Session 5
- January 8 - Session 6
- January 22 - Session 7
- February 5 - Session 8
- February 19 - Session 9
- March 5 - Session 10
- March 19 - tentative
South Pointe CenteringPregnancy Group #33 with Fran Jackson, CNM on these Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
Due dates through June 2025
- December 18 - Session 1 (9a.m. This day only!)
- January 12 - Session 2
- February 12 -Session 3
- March 12- Session 4
- March 26- Session 5
- April 9 - Session 6
- April 23 - Session 7
- May 7 - Session 8
- May 21 - Session 9
- June 4 - Session 10
Wooster Family Health Center
330.287.4500
Wooster CenteringPregnancy group #5 with Jessica Costa, CNM and Courtney Plotts, CNM at 2:30 p.m. on these Wednesdays
Due dates through March 2025
- September 4 - Session 1
- October 2 - Session 2
- October 30 - Session 3
- December 4 - Session 4
- December 18 - Session 5
- January 8 - Session 6
- January 22 - Session 7
- February 5 - Session 8
- February 19 - Session 9
- March 5 - Session 10
Wooster CenteringPregnancy group #6 with Jessica Costa, CNM and Courtney Plotts, CNM at 2:30 p.m. on these Wednesdays
Due dates through May 2025
- November 13 - Session 1
- December 11 - Session 2
- January 15 - Session 3
- January 29 - Session 4
- February 12 - Session 5
- February 26 - Session 6
- March 12 - Session 7
- March 26 - Session 8
- April 9 - Session 9
- April 23 - Session 10
Willoughby Hills Family Health Center (Lower-level conference room)
440.943.2500
New Group Coming Fall 2024!
Brunswick Family Health Center - No Current CenteringPregnancy Groups
330.225.8886
