The meanings and the reasons of giving birth at a Childbirth House: social representations in the bioethical context of recent mothers of São Paulo, SP

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.200832.4.6

Abstract

This is a qualitative study that had as objective identified the meanings of giving birth at the Home of Childbirth attributed by
recent mothers, knowing the reasons for choosing to give birth in that place and identify how they came to know the Childbirth House.
20 recent mothers were interviewed in Sao Paulo city. Data collection was done by means of a semi-structured interview recorded and
literally transcribed. Methodological procedures followed principles of the Collective Subject Discourse for selecting central ideas and
the corresponding key-expressions, from which the recent mothers discourse was identified. The following social representations were
identified on the meanings of giving birth at the Childbirth House: “good assistance”, “a differentiated environment”; social representations
on the reasons for giving birth at the Childbirth House were only: “Quality of assistance”, “information received”. As regards knowing
the reasons these pregnant women have chosen the Childbirth House the following dimensions were identified: “recommendations of
several persons; television news”. The autonomy of recent mothers in choosing the Childbirth House was confirmed in this study, the
quality of assistance and, especially, the option for natural childbirth.