Uzazi Village

The Ida Mae Patterson Center for Maternal & Infant Wellness is founded on the tenets of the Village Circle ApproachTM. The center offers Community-Embedded Group Prenatal Care, designed to support, protect and provide community-based clinical care to African-American childbearing persons, families, and others. Prenatal care at the Center includes (1) Care Participants - enrolled pregnant clients- will receive care in supportive cohorts of their peers that focus on perinatal education, informed consent, community nurturance and support, all in a culturally validating environment and (2) The Village Circle ApproachTM aims to eliminate the damaging consequences of racism in prenatal care currently demonstrated within standard medical models of care. The model focuses on clinical excellence, client autonomy, and group determination all in an environment of cultural validation and celebration.