The social interaction of puerperal women towards invasive childbirth procedures

Abstract

Objective: to present a representative model of puerperal women’s social interaction with invasive childbirth procedures, based on the meanings they attribute to them. Method: this interpretative, qualitative study was conducted at a public maternity hospital in Rio de Janeiro by interview of 12 puerperal women in three sample groups. Data were analyzed in accordance with Symbolic interactionism and Grounded Theory. Results: an invasive procedure is anything that lies outside or violates the natural course of childbirth. Women in labor feel uncomfortable with the physiological situations of childbirth. Trusting in the care professional, they submit to procedures that they consider necessary to their baby’s birth. Conclusion: the representative model shows that women submit to invasive procedures, not considering them invasive. Strategies must be developed to permit women to understand and decide on their own bodies, and to encourage obstetric nurses to provide women’s care based on non-invasive procedures.