Centering Parenting transforms wellness checkups for children birth to 2 years

Santa Cruz Sentinel - 6/23/2019

Jun. 23--SANTA CRUZ -- Palo Alto Medical Foundation Pediatrics in Santa Cruz is introducing a new way to do well-child checkups for young children known as Centering Parenting.

Compared to a one-on-one well-child checkup between a family, child and his/her doctor, Centering Parenting visits take up to two hours and are held in a group setting.

Each Centering Parenting visit begins with individual health assessments, developmental screenings and immunizations. In the second portion of the visit, the families meetwith the health care provider teaching the class and have a group discussion with questions, concerns and advice about their children's wellness. Visits also emphasize self care and the health of the mother.

Centering Parenting consists of nine visits over two years. Each Centering Parenting group consists of up to 10 families with children roughly the same age. Moms can come with their child and a support person, such as a husband, parent or partner. Schedules are set in advance so that parents can make arrangements to attend. The program is billed as a normal well-child checkup.

Janae Clark is the mother of 9-month-old Riker. She participated in Centering Pregnancy and learned about Centering Parenting at an OB/Gyn appointment. She generally attends the visits with her husband Scott. Riker is their first child.

"Sometimes I freak out over the small things, like is this normal or not normal?" she said. "Is he progressing? Is he not? So it's really, for me, beneficial to be able to listen and hear other people's ideas and stories, so I can feel a little bit more calm and relaxed. And knowing I'm not alone in motherhood, because sometimes it can feel like you are the only one. So it's nice to have that community aspect."

Clark connects with the parents in Centering Parenting outside of the group visits, too. She said Riker brightens up around other children and likes to interact and learn from them.

"Any big steps he's ever taken, it's been watching other kids," she said, adding that he learned to sit up after watching another child do it.

More than 110 families are enrolled in Centering Parenting in Santa Cruz, amounting to 16 groups, according to nurse practitioner and Centering Parenting Director Kayce Ryberg. She started the Centering Parenting program in Santa Cruz in March 2018. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation pediatrics department, 2025 Soquel Ave., is the only facility in the county that has Centering Parenting.

"We call it family-centered well-child care that's in a relaxed, comfortable environment," she said. "I think the beauty of it is one parent's questions and concerns are the same as another parents'"."

Families benefit from enrolling in the class. They learn more and can participate in taking their child's vital signs and growth measurements and parents feel more empowered and informed.

Centering Parenting follows a model from the Centering Healthcare Institute, a nonprofit headquartered in Boston that started in the 1990s as an organization that provides training, facilitation and curriculum materials for group health care. The institute also developed Centering Pregnancy, a model of group prenatal care for women due at the same time to track their health data and discuss pregnancy topics. About 30-40% of parents from Centering Pregnancy will go on to participate in Centering Parenting.

Two nurse practitioners and 14 doctors lead the groups. Pediatrician Dr. Jeanne Gallagher is the administrative lead for Centering Parenting in Santa Cruz and facilitates Riker's group. The group's most recent meeting was Thursday at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Soquel Center. She said as a pediatrician, Centering Parenting is a different way to provide the care they've given their whole careers, and as an administrator, it allows the providers to give more care at the same time.

"Sometimes it's just emphasizing how hard it is," she said. "It's helpful to have more voices say it's normal or it's going to get better." Gallagher lets the group drive the discussion, but families usually bring up the topics she wants to address. They talk about sleeping patterns, travel, nursing versus solid foods and more. Gallagher said parents feel supported and it's easier for them to build community in a group setting than in an individual appointment.

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