Robert Lewis Thompson III

I emailed Tara Thompson and she gave me permission to  post this video.  I thought it was nice and decided to share.  Tara and her family are doing fine and still servicing our Country.

Centering in Pregnancy

The Women's Health Clinic at Portsmouth cordially invites you to participate in a special prenatal program. This program called Centering is designed specifically for women who are interested in learning as much as possible during their pregnancy, and who would enjoy meeting other pregnant women and sharing the experience of pregnancy with them.

If you are interested in the program, you will be placed in a group with 10-12 other pregnant women who are due to deliver about the same time as you.  There are 10 sessions of about two hours each that are scheduled throughout your pregnancy. These dates are already established and will be given to you at your first session. (great for scheduling!) If you cannot make one of these sessions, your provider will see you 1:1 and then you can return to group. 

Each of the group sessions will provide time for individual (private) physical assessment (your weight, blood pressure, baby’s growth, etc.), then discussion about topics like: pregnancy, birth, pain management, lactation, physical therapy, social work, Lamaze, and new babies.  The sessions will be led by an Obstetrical Provider and a nurse or corpsman, as well as other resource people.  Some sessions will have a special speaker, and sometimes we’ll watch a pregnancy or related video.         

We hope that as a part of this group you will get to know other pregnant women well and will be able to share some of your experiences. Many women who participate in this type of prenatal care develop strong and long lasting friendships with the women in their group.  Your baby’s father or other support people are welcome to attend with you. 

Unfortunately, other children cannot come to group as you will not be able to care for them during your visit.

We are excited about this great program.  It combines the three important parts of prenatal care:  assessment, education, and support, into one whole.  This means that you won’t have to come for separate, individual visits unless you have a medical problem that needs monitoring.  All of your time spent here should be productive and fun!  If you don’t like the group program, you can let us know and we will arrange for you to receive traditional prenatal care. 

If you have any questions, please ask!! This is a special time in your life and we want to help you remember it forever.

Naval Medical Center Portsmouth NICU

Welcome to the New Parent Support Blog

Welcome to the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) New Parent Support Blog!!!  As expecting or recently delivered mothers and new fathers at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, this is an exciting yet stressful time for you.  The staff at NMCP are here to help you with this transition.  This forum is moderated by the staff at NMCP.  As individual members, feel free to ask a question and start a thread.  There is no better teacher than other new parents and as always, someone from NMCP is here as well.  Also, check back regularly.