Obstetric Care and Prenatal Care

Prenatal care is crucial for the health of women, families and the entire community. Many people access the healthcare system when they learn of their pregnancy, hoping to improve personal and family health. Prenatal care offers the opportunity to get to know patients in depth and sometimes allows us to detect health problems that generate fear and stress, both in women and their families. It is essential to sensitively address antepartum risks, complications, and difficulties. The birth of a baby is one of the most special moments for everyone, but some parents have stayed away from care due to cultural aspects related to social forces, such as machismo, paternalism and colonialism. Many parents have had traumatic experiences during their previous pregnancies and births, and often their first experiences in U.S. hospitals are with us, lending the opportunity to offer experiences that can heal past wounds. Through prenatal care, we can provide a beautiful, healing, and respectful experience that opens doors to mental health and improves family relationships, helping to prevent the repetition of cycles of violence and abuse learned in families of origin and contributing to a healthier community. When interpreting for families receiving prenatal care, appropriately handling these delicate moments between patient and care team is essential to ensure understanding and promote the health of the baby, the mother and the family. This CEU course gives the interpreter the tools to feel comfortable in these situations and conversations, so that the family feels safe and confident in their health team and in the health system they go to for delivery.
CEU Credit Offering

  • OHA: Ethics, Skills, Other 

    2.0 Units

    • CCHI

      2.0 Units

    • NBCMI/IMIA

      0.2 Units

    Instructor Bio: Monica Arce

    Monica Arce grew up in Lima, Peru, and moved to the United States to begin her undergraduate studies in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1990. After graduating from Tulane University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Composition and Music Theory, she moved to Portland, Oregon, in 1994, where she worked as a medical interpreter from 1994 to 2004. In her last seven years as an interpreter, she worked at the OHSU Center for Women’s Health, interpreting for numerous pregnant patients who required care with multiple specialists due to high-risk pregnancies. During this time, Monica developed a strong desire to serve her Latino community, not only as an interpreter, but also as a direct health care provider. She enrolled in the OHSU program to train as a midwife, and after three years, she graduated in 2007. Her goal was to find a place where the majority of clients were Latino and Spanish-speaking, and she found the perfect location at Clinica Virginia Garcia. She began working as a midwife at Virginia Garcia’s primary care clinic in Hillsboro. In 2010, she was appointed head of the obstetric care providers group. In 2017, she led the opening of the Virginia Garcia Reproductive Clinic, where all of the clinics pregnancy care was centralized. Monica has been working with the Latino community for 24 years, first as an interpreter, and then as a midwife and has participated in the birth of more than 2000 babies.