Group Care Global |

Group Care Global‘s mission is to promote group health care for pregnant and parenting people, infants, partners, and their families to improve health and well-being.

To support this mission, Group Care Global collaborates with international partners to integrate Centering-Based Group Care into health systems.

As a US-based independent non-governmental organization, we commit to continuing to work in partnership with colleagues around the world to ensure that local knowledge, supportive relationships, and connection are at the forefront of how care is delivered and experienced. We value the lives of people wherever they live, respecting and celebrating the diversity that exists throughout the world, including differing abilities, sexuality, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, age, language, and economic and immigration status. We strive to strengthen meaningful collaboration based in equity, inclusion, and human dignity.

What is Group Care?

Want to learn more about Group Care? Here are two videos made through the GC_1000 initiative.

Stories about GroupCare

“Little Pearls, short group care stories with a large impact”. A joint publication of TNO, the KNOV, the Centering Nederland Foundation and Group Care Global. The book was first distributed in the English version at the GC_1000 launch meeting in Leiden, Netherlands, February 2020.

Read the full publication here.

Community Building

A Blueprint for the Newborn Neighbourhood

One of the three core components of Group Care is Community Building, both among participants in the group itself, as well as with the larger community where they live, work, and raise their families. The Blueprint is a community approach that connects (future) parents with neighborhood resources. Because it takes a neighbourhood to raise a child!

Follow us on Facebook

Facebook Posts

Group Care Global

10 hours ago

From implementation to evidence.GC_1000 brought together researchers, healthcare professionals, implementers, and country teams to study how group care could be introduced, adapted, and sustained across diverse healthcare settings.The project’s research examined questions that matter in practice:🔎 What helps or hinders implementation?🌍 How does local context influence success?🤝 What encourages families to participate?🎓 What skills do group care facilitators need?💬 How do relationships and peer support shape the care experience?📈 What is needed for sustainability and scale-up?The results created a growing evidence base for healthcare providers, organizations, researchers, and policymakers.CORDIS lists 14 peer-reviewed articles connected to GC_1000, alongside nine public project reports and deliverables.The publications explore topics including:• Maternal satisfaction with group care• Contextual barriers and implementation enablers• Recruitment and referral into group antenatal care• Essential facilitation skills• The power of relationships in group care• Antenatal and postnatal group care models• Country implementation experiences and resultsA special issue of The Practising Midwife also brought several of these insights together for midwives and other maternity professionals helping translate research into accessible lessons for practice.Research matters when it can be used.By documenting successes, challenges, adaptations, and lessons across seven countries, GC_1000 created knowledge that can help future teams make informed decisions and avoid starting from zero.The project may have ended, but its evidence continues to support the implementation and advancement of group care around the world.Explore the publications and project results:cordis.europa.eu/project/id/848147/results#GC1000 #GroupCare #Research #EvidenceIntoPractice #MaternalHealth #ImplementationScience #Midwifery #First1000Days ...

Photo

View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)

Group Care Global

6 days ago

Happening tomorrow! 🌍Group Care Global is excited to be part of ICGMV’s 2026 Conference: The Power of Groups, exploring what makes Group Medical Visits effective.During Session 2: Implementation Track, Deborah Billings, PhD, and Astrid Van Damme, CNM, PhD, will present:“Centering-Based Group Prenatal Care Across Cultural Settings: Modification Processes for Successful Implementation.”📅 September 18, 2026🕚 11:55 AM ESTWe look forward to sharing insights and experiences on adapting and implementing group prenatal care across diverse cultural settings.#GroupCareGlobal #ICGMV #GroupMedicalVisits #GroupCare #PrenatalCare #Implementation #GMV #SMA ...

Photo

View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)

Group Care Global

1 week ago

Building skills. Strengthening systems. Growing local leadership.Group care changes more than where care happens. It changes how healthcare providers and participants learn, communicate, and make decisions together.That is why facilitator training was a central part of GC_1000.Facilitators learn how to:• Create a welcoming and respectful group environment• Guide interactive discussion instead of relying on lectures• Encourage participants to ask questions and share experiences• Support self-care activities and individual clinical assessments within the group space• Build trust, connection, and peer support• Respond thoughtfully to different cultures, languages, and participant needsTraining is designed to be experiential. Providers practice the skills they will use in real sessions, reflect on their facilitation, and learn from one another.But preparing individual facilitators is only the beginning.To build lasting local capacity, GC_1000 also prepared in-country trainers who could train and support additional facilitators within their own health systems. By the end of the project:🎓 219 healthcare workers had been trained🌍 46 in-country trainers had been prepared across seven countriesThis approach helps knowledge remain within local organizations and communities. It creates a foundation for continued coaching, stronger facilitator networks, and the sustainable expansion of group care.The lesson is clear: scale does not come from training people once. It grows through ongoing practice, reflection, mentorship, and local leadership.When facilitators are supported to become confident group leaders and local trainers are equipped to guide others group care becomes more than a project. It becomes a capacity that health systems can continue to strengthen.Explore the training and implementation resources:groupcare.global/group-care-implementation-modules/en/#GC1000 #groupcare #FacilitatorTraining #capacitybuilding #LocalLeadership #MaternalHealth #HealthSystems #first1000days ...

Photo

View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)

Group Care Global

2 weeks ago

We’re excited to be part of ICGMV’s Sixth Annual Conference: The Power of Groups!On September 18, 2026, Group Care Global’s Deborah Billings, PhD, and Astrid Van Damme, CNM, PhD, will lead a main session exploring Centering-based group prenatal care across cultural settings and the modification processes that support successful implementation.Their session will share insights into how group care can be thoughtfully adapted across different contexts while maintaining the essential elements that make the model effective.The virtual conference brings together professionals and leaders in group medical visits and shared medical appointments to exchange knowledge, experiences, and approaches to strengthening group-based care.✨ The conference has also been approved for 7 CME credits.📅 September 18, 2026💻 Virtual Conference🔗 Register and explore the full conference schedule: ICGMV 2026 ConferenceWe look forward to being part of the conversation and sharing what we’ve learned through Group Care Global’s work around the world.#GMV #SMA #GroupMedicalVisits #SharedMedicalAppointments #GroupCare #GroupCareGlobal #PrenatalCare #MaternalHealth ...

Photo

View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)

Join our Mailing List

Contact us: dbillings@groupcare.global. 6520 Wissahickon Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19119-3739