PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Florida State University College of Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at Sacred Heart Women’s Hospital was recently awarded a $3,000 Community Awards Program grant from the Florida Chapter of the March of Dimes. The goal of the community awards program is to identify and fund community-based programs addressing the health concerns of pregnant women in the state of Florida.

The grant monies will be used to fund a group prenatal care program at the Sacred Heart Women’s Hospital Seton Center for Obstetrics & Gynecology, a community clinic that offers OB/GYN care to uninsured and underinsured women in Northwest Florida.

In this program, each patient will have a traditional obstetrical intake visit, including a physical exam, labs and ultrasound. The patient then will be assigned to a prenatal group that consists of several other women with a due date in the same four-week time period. The groups will meet nine to 10 times throughout their pregnancy for follow-up prenatal visits and to discuss issues such as genetic screening, lactation, and prepared childbirth.

Recent studies have shown that group prenatal care reduces the rates of preterm births, increases the rates of breast feeding, improves patient satisfaction, and significantly reduces waiting times. Patients participating in group prenatal care spend an average of 20 hours of face-to-face time with their physician, as opposed to two hours in a traditional clinic.

For more information or to make an appointment at the Seton Center, please call (850) 416 – 2400.

For more information on OB/GYN services at Sacred Heart Women’s Hospital, please call (850) 416-1600 or visit us online at http://www.sacred-heart.org.

About the Seton Center for Obstetrics & Gynecology

Sacred Heart Women’s Hospital is dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of all women in our community, regardless of their ability to pay. The Seton Center accepts patients by referral from other clinics, physicians or by direct calls from individuals. The Seton Center is staffed by 12 full-time resident physicians working in conjunction with board-certified physicians and faculty members with the Florida State University College of Medicine. In addition to our OB/GYN physicians, our staff includes a genetics counselor and physicians who are specially trained in maternal and fetal medicine.