CenteringPregnancy FAQ

Centering is group prenatal care that focuses on your needs. Your appointments and the information we give you during your pregnancy is designed to best meet your needs. We want you to have time to learn about what matters most to you during your pregnancy.

Centering offers group prenatal appointments where you can meet others and learn together during your pregnancy. Centering offers 10 prenatal visits that are each 2 hours long. These longer visits give you 10 times more time with your provider. During your 2-hour visit you will enjoy a snack, relax and visit with the other moms and families who are there. You will also have 90 minutes of learning and time with your provider who will check your belly and talk with you 1:1. 

A longer visit means you have more time with your provider. You will also get to spend time with other moms and families, while you learn and discuss important pregnancy topics.  You will learn to take and record your own vital signs and have private time with your own provider. 

Our providers work together at Centering, so you may see your regular OBGYN provider. If your provider is not at Centering, you will still be able to see them at the beginning and end of your pregnancy at other appointments. You will build relationships with the Centering providers that you will see during your Centering visits. You will usually see the same two providers for all your Centering visits.

You can choose Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Westwood or Santa Monica UCLA hospital in Santa Monica for your delivery. Both hospitals offer Centering group prenatal care. 

If Centering doesn't work with your schedule, you can always choose traditional care. Centering families will receive the schedule of visits at their initial individual prenatal visit. So, you'll be able to plan around the visits for your entire pregnancy.

Yes, we welcome partners or other support persons to come to your Centering visits. There may be some visits where partners or support persons are specifically invited.

If Centering session times don’t work with your schedule, you can choose traditional care. If you miss a Centering session, you can do a conventional prenatal visit and then rejoin your group next time.

Centering groups meet about every four weeks for the first 4 visits, then every two weeks for the next 6 visits. You will have a total of about 10 Centering visits starting around 12 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, depending on when you join a Centering group.

Absolutely not! Centering is about you and not long, boring lectures. We briefly introduce each session’s topic and then most of each session is built around you, and your questions. The group will discuss a topic, ask questions, share stories and have fun together. We are there to give you what you need, and you are invited to come together with others and learn about what matters to you during your pregnancy.