Kaiser Health News\u00a0is\u00a0a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.<\/p>\n
(By Anna Gorman for Kaiser Health News)<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES \u2014 The women sat in a circle and bemoaned their sleepless nights. It seemed unfair: Their babies weren\u2019t even born yet.<\/p>\n
Mayra Del Real\u2019s daughter turned somersaults in her belly every few hours. Alexandria Smith lay awake with heartburn. When she wasn\u2019t propped up with every pillow in the house, she was making bleary-eyed trips to the bathroom.<\/p>\n
Sofia Mejia, pregnant with her third baby, laughed knowingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really priceless \u2014 those moments in the middle of the night,\u201d she said. \u201cYou get used to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
These moms-to-be weren\u2019t just commiserating over coffee. They were at a routine prenatal visit \u2014 all five of them at once.<\/p>\n
The women are participating in a unique type of health care: shared medical appointments. As a group, they see nurse midwife Mercedes Taha for 10 two-hour visits throughout their pregnancies. They take turns being examined, learn more about childbirth and parenting, and as their due dates approach, celebrate with a joint baby shower. Read article here……<\/a><\/p>\n Kaiser Health News\u00a0is\u00a0a nonprofit national health policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.<\/p>\n
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