Reproductive and Child Healthcare
Healthcare Services
Centering Pregnancy and Centering Parenting
Philadelphia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates and racial disparities in birth outcomes in the country. The Reproductive and Child Health Team at Project HOME offers excellent reproductive, obstetric, and gynecologic care at the Stephen Klein Wellness Center under Project HOME’s Federally Qualified Health Center. Project HOME utilizes the Centering model of care, which extends routine health visits to encompass longer group visits.
The Centering model includes the individual health assessment, but also group discussions and learning activities, with social interaction that builds community, support systems, and confidence. Topics include:
- Nutrition
- Common discomforts
- Stress management
- Labor and delivery
- Breastfeeding
- Infant care
This full-person support of birthing parents has been proven to improve outcomes, while reducing racial disparities in those outcomes. Monitoring continues during the post-partum period, which is a crucial time for both parent and infant health, with parents offered nine Centering Parenting sessions.
Incorporating this group support and education with regular health visits makes perinatal, postpartum, and pediatric care more accessible, extending the standard appointment instead of requiring birthing parents to seek out other resources, groups, and meeting times. It is housed in a facility that focuses services on those who may have low incomes, mental health struggles, experiences of homelessness, or other barriers to standard care.
Defining the Challenge
In North Philadelphia, the infant mortality rate is 11.6 per 1,000 live births. That is four points higher than anywhere else in the city. North Philadelphia also has the highest percentage of low birthweights (16 percent) and preterm births (12.4 percent), which can contribute to infant mortality or long-term health consequences.
Black birthing parents accounted for 73 percent of pregnancy-related deaths in Philadelphia (vs. 43 percent of births). In addition, Black birthing parents had disproportional rates of pre-term births and low birth weights.
With its Centering model of care and compassionate team of doctors, nurses, community health workers, and administrators, The Reproductive and Child Health Team at Project HOME is tackling these health disparities head on.
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Project HOME's Healthcare Services is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and we are able to provide our services regardless of a person’s ability to pay for the services. In cases where an individual lacks health insurance, we offer a discounted sliding fee program.
Project HOME receives HHS funding and has Federal Public Health Service (PHS) deemed status with respect to certain health or health-related claims including medical malpractice claims for itself and its covered individuals.
Additional Information
Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Appointments are same day or next day for both in person and telehealth visits. Call 215-320-6187 at 9 a.m. to make an appointment.
Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Walk in appointments only.
You can now request your medical records from the Stephen Klein Wellness Center online. Log into the patient portal.
