Meanwhile, the rest of the group milled around the main part of the room, a bit awkwardly at first. If we'd been in a waiting room for standard appointments, we might not have given one another more than a nod.Examples of cognitive learning in children but here, munching on banana bread baked by the midwives, we quickly discovered how much the experience of pregnancy gave us in common. Soon we were chatting about the struggles of no longer being able to sleep on our backs, the best pregnancy pillow to buy and the importance of foot rubs from our partners.Examples of cognitive learning in children

After the exams, we gathered in a circle of chairs to talk about all the crazy things happening to our bodies. In the very first activity, the midwives handed out laminated cards with pregnancy symptoms written on them — things like swollen feet or food cravings.Examples of cognitive learning in children we were to go around and read our symptom and then share whether it was something we had experienced. The very first card to be shared: vaginal discharge.Examples of cognitive learning in children and, with a few giggles, the ice was broken.

We met monthly at first and then more frequently as we got closer to our due dates. The curriculum was based on workbooks created by the centering healthcare institute in boston and was focused on topics like nutrition, relationships, labor and delivery, and newborn care.Examples of cognitive learning in children we often started with a breathing exercise or a short icebreaker, followed by prompts and games to encourage us to share the details of our experiences and fears and to teach us how to take care of ourselves and prepare for our new lives as parents.Examples of cognitive learning in children

Years of studies — many focusing on teen and low-income moms — have found that babies born to women in centeringpregnancy groups are less likely to be premature, be underweight or spend time in the intensive care unit.Examples of cognitive learning in children A 2016 study of a south carolina program, for example, found that participating in centeringpregnancy reduced the risk of premature birth by 36%.Examples of cognitive learning in children and that saved money — an average of $22,667 for every premature birth prevented under medicaid, the state's health insurance program for the poor.Examples of cognitive learning in children typically, the patient's insurance company will not know they have been a part of a centering group, which is billed as standard prenatal care.Examples of cognitive learning in children

The centeringpregnancy program was started in 1993 in connecticut by midwife sharon schindler rising, who was frustrated that she had to rush through patients' exams.Examples of cognitive learning in children over the past five years, the number of practices that offer centering has nearly doubled to 600; midwives still lead most of the groups. About half are in community health centers that serve mainly low-income women, but private practices like northwestern have also started programs.Examples of cognitive learning in children

Hirschfield said she was surprised by how open people have been about their lives, sexual relationships and bodies. "There just isn't time for that when you have 15 minutes every couple of weeks to just really listen to the heartbeat and take your blood pressure and ask how your back is feeling." if participants had additional questions or concerns, we could schedule separate individual visits or reach out via email.Examples of cognitive learning in children

We moved back to california just two months later, but it didn't mean the end of our group. Instead, we went from a pregnancy crew to a parenting crew, commiserating over email about nighttime wakings and reminding each other to breathe in the midst of the chaos.Examples of cognitive learning in children in april, my family flew back to chicago to attend a reunion during a snowstorm. Even the midwives showed up.