Women‐centered care: Implementation of CenteringPregnancy® in The Netherlands

In response to a relatively high perinatal mortality rate in The Netherlands, the Dutch Health Ministry recommended changes to maternity care, opening a pathway toward more integrated woman‐centered services. Because of its potential to positively influence risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes, CenteringPregnancy (CP) group prenatal care was implemented. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study (n = 2318) and survey on women's experiences (n = 222) in eight primary care midwifery practices to investigate outcome differences between CP and traditional individual prenatal care. Data from the period 2011‐2013 were analyzed. Results Primiparous and multiparous CP women attended more prenatal care visits compared with women who received individual care (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.23 [95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18‐1.29] and 1.29 [1.21‐1.36]). Fewer primiparous CP women used pain relief during labor (0.56 [0.43‐0.73]), and they initiated breastfeeding more often (1.74 [1.15‐2.62]). Women participating in CP were more likely to feel that their wishes with respect to medication use (69.1% vs 54.4%, P  = 0.039), physical activities (72.8% vs 52.5%, P  = 0.008), and relaxation exercises (67.9% vs 35.6%, P  ≤ 0.001) were listened to by care providers. They also felt more supported to actively participate in their care (89.6% vs 68.5%, P  = 0.001) and felt more able to voice opinions about care (92.7% vs 73.9%, P  = 0.002). Conclusions The CP model is a good approach aligning with Dutch policy calling for women‐centered care and responding to the needs of pregnant women. This study supports CP scale‐up in The Netherlands and adds to the pool of international knowledge about CP implementation.