Sentara brings maternal health and childbirth education classes to Portsmouth, Virginia

Comprehensive prenatal care and education are essential to ensuring healthy pregnancies and positive health outcomes for both mothers and their infants. However, some expectant mothers face challenges in receiving the education and support they need for a healthy pregnancy due to the lack of maternal care and resources in their communities. 

To address these challenges, Sentara Health collaborates with community partners and faith leaders to remove barriers to care, bridge care gaps, and increase access by delivering high-touch care directly to communities – like Portsmouth, Virginia – where the needs are greatest. 

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital recently began offering maternal health and childbirth education classes in Portsmouth. Through partnerships with Grove Church, the Children’s Museum of Virginia, and various community organizations, Sentara is working to extend maternal care support beyond its hospital walls to improve maternal health outcomes and expand access to vital resources for expectant parents in Portsmouth.

“When we think about opportunities to truly improve the total health and wellness of our communities, we need to think outside of the box,” said Iris Lundy, vice president of health equity, diversity, and inclusion, Sentara. “What can we do as your neighbor and healthcare partner? We can meet you at the point of need, and that is where you live in your community.”

Teresita Hammond (far left) and Iris Lundy (far right) join community leaders, advocates, and healthcare professionals to discuss Black maternal health.

Lundy and Teresita Hammond, BSN, RNC-OB, a dedicated labor and delivery nurse at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, are partnering with dedicated allies in Portsmouth and throughout the region to provide targeted interventions to drive change and improve maternal health. 

“Portsmouth, like many communities, faces challenges with maternal health disparities, including higher rates of complications during pregnancy and delivery. Non-medical drivers of health, such as socioeconomic factors and limited access to care, often exacerbate these issues,” said Hammond, who also serves as one of the class instructors. “By offering these classes in the Portsmouth community, we hope to address these barriers and provide expectant parents with vital education, resources, and support to ensure a healthier pregnancy and delivery experience.”

Empowering expectant mothers through education

The goal of the maternal health and childbirth education classes is to provide expectant mothers with the knowledge and confidence they need to thrive throughout their pregnancy journey and beyond.

The classes are designed to create a supportive and informative environment where participants feel heard, and they leave feeling prepared.  The classes cover a range of topics in the maternal health space, including:

• Antepartum care, which highlights the importance of prenatal care, nutrition, and staying healthy during pregnancy.
• Labor and delivery, outlining the stages of labor, pain management options, and birthing plans.
• Postpartum care, which focuses on recovery, breastfeeding, newborn care, and mental health support.

During the classes, participants are equipped with additional educational resources, such as maternal health booklets, informational handouts, and access to online resources. Sentara also shares a list of contacts for ongoing pregnancy support and community resources, including doulas, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Postpartum Support Virginia, lactation consultants, in-home visiting partners, mental health services, and more. 

“Ultimately, we hope to foster a supportive community where individuals feel empowered to make informed decisions about their health, which will improve maternal and infant outcomes,” Hammond said.

Building knowledge and confidence 

Emily Bradley and her husband Charlie recently took advantage of Sentara’s maternal health education classes in Portsmouth. Emily described a positive and informative experience that helped to deepen her understanding and ease her mind about the birthing process.

“The class helped me mentally prepare for labor and delivery,” Emily said. “From my understanding, labor is a mental game. The more education that I receive, the more self-assured I feel.”

Emily appreciated the opportunity to ask a range of questions, from the hospital’s policies and procedures to birthing positions and preferences. 

“The class allowed me to examine the holes in my plan and places I could clarify my preferences,” she said. “Anyone planning on giving birth locally would benefit from a class like this. It gave me and my husband so much clarity on the remaining questions that we had.”

Emily and Charlie Bradley look forward to meeting their baby in June 2025.

Emily’s favorite part of the class was that it gave her and other participants a space to share stories about their pregnancy and birthing experiences. “I love hearing other people's birth stories and seeing their journey through the process of birth," said Emily. “Positive birth stories help me feel more confident in my own ability to overcome birth without trauma.”

The Bradleys are due in June and will deliver their baby at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. They look forward to their delivery date to find out whether they will be welcoming a girl or a boy to their family.

Sentara’s maternal health classes in Portsmouth are currently offered once a month at the Children’s Museum of Virginia. To view the schedule or to register for a class, visit www.sentara.com/maternalhealthclass. A light breakfast and lunch are provided.

Cardiovascular disease and pregnancy

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States, which have risen 140% in the last three decades. Women with heart disease during pregnancy leaves them with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease after pregnancy, as well as an increased risk for their children.

Leaders from Sentara and Eastern Virginia Medical School worked together across institutions and disciplines to create the Sentara-EVMS Cardio-Obstetrics Center, the Hampton Roads region’s first program focused on the cardiovascular needs of pregnant women. The new program is based at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the primary teaching hospital for EVMS Maternal Fetal Medicine, which serves a largely high-risk population nearing delivery, often with little or no pre-natal care.

The Sentara-EVMS Center is designed to provide a comprehensive continuum of care for pregnant individuals with pre-existing or newly diagnosed cardiovascular conditions. The program ensures the well-being of the mother and developing fetus by closely monitoring and managing cardiovascular health throughout the pregnancy and the postpartum period.

“If we acknowledge that not everyone is coming in with the same opportunities and backgrounds, then we can gear our care in such a way that we are also bridging some of those disparities,” said Amber Price, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Sentara. “We are focused on building trust and getting women in for care early in their pregnancy journey so that we can be there from the beginning and hold their hand throughout their journey and afterwards.”