HEALTHY HAPPY FAMILIES: TRANSFORMING MATERNITY CARE THROUGH CO-PRODUCTION.

Like many countries in the western world, despite the good intentions of policy makers, inequalities in health are increasing i. Wales has higher than the UK average levels of obesity and smoking during pregnancy – 6.5% of women having a BMI more than 35 and 33% of women report that they smoke at some point during pregnancy ii.  In addition, and related to this, in the most deprived areas of Wales, around 7.5% of babies are born with low birth weight.

In light of growing evidence that suggests the first year of life can determine a child’s future health, happiness, educational and economic attainment, it has never been more important to be very ambitious in relation to policy and practice that could improving the health of women and families.

Centering in Pregnancy is a model of delivering antenatal care which has been developed and used across the USA for over 10 years and sets out to transform the way health care is experienced and delivered.  By using co-production methodologies, women are actively involved in monitoring and measuring their health throughout the pregnancy, in a group of women from their local community. The model aims to build communities through active participation in maternity care. Recent evidence, from 1000 women, demonstrated a high uptake of antenatal care, 30-40% reduction in premature births and an increase in breastfeeding rates.