China

The Midwives Branch of China Maternal and Child Health Association (MBCMCHA) engaged Group Care Global (GCG) to work with them to improve prenatal care quality and strengthen midwifery practice through the implementation of Centering-Based Group Care.

Both groups were interested in whether a virtual platform would work to provide quality training for this facilitative, interactive model of care, especially given the challenges of language, technology, and time differences.  Also, there was attention to whether this model would be feasible in the Chinese maternity health care system. 

There were two “courses” of CBGC facilitation training in 2021 and 2022 (54 hours each) initially led by the US team with the China team taking increased responsibility for later workshops.  In total, 76 midwives, nurses, and physicians attended from 18 provinces throughout China.  By late in 2022, eleven sites have begun implementing the model and 27 sites are planning on starting. Haining hospital, the pilot site in Zhejiang Province, already has started 15 groups in one year.

This project supports our understanding that with the critical components of dedicated leadership, trust-building, and use of widely available tools, an innovative model of prenatal care can be initiated in a new country and site. This potentially addresses geographical gaps in equity, as any place with internet access could access training and support in this care model.