Expectations of a group of portuguese pregnant women in the districts of viseu and aveiro regarding motherhood

Abstract

Motherhood is a complex phenomenon, supplementedwith expectations about the new reality, the hopes of all going well, taking into account the expected care. In order to meet the needs of the Portuguese expectant mother, it is necessary to know what she deems essential for herself and her family, so that strategies may be developed to facilitate the transition process. This study was intended to gain insight into fulfilled and unfulfilled expectations of health care in motherhood with a group pregnant females in Portugal. This is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study, with 22 Portuguese women belonging to the Clusters of Health Care Centers of the districts of Viseu and Aveiro. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using content analysis proposed by Bardin, supported by QSR NVivo 10. It was observed that fulfilled expectations surpassed those unmet, especially in terms of high quality health care and competent health care professionals. Regarding unfulfilled expectations, they mainly refer to maternity incentives, with an emphasis on the wish of greater financial familly supportfrom the government.