Pregnant women's experiences and expressions related to the interaction with the health system: a photoethnographic approach

Abstract

This ethnographic study aimed to understand women's experiences related to their contact with the health system due to pregnancy. Cultural Anthropology and Ethnography were used as a theoretical-methodological reference framework. Data were collected through participant observation, photographical resources and interviews. The pictures were taken by pregnant women, who received prenatal care at the Basic Health Units in the area covered by the school hospital, which was considered the cultural scenario for this study. The data were presented as a narrative and were analyzed through the Interpretative and Biographical Method. Data resulted in eight categories, which gave rise to three cultural themes, by means of which the collaborators recover and classify their experiences, in order to ratify the results of important events considered positive or to reconsider the negative events. Next, they glimpse at the birth process in all of its dimensions. The eye of the camera sometimes allowed them to register and absorb facts, and sometimes avoided the capturing of things that would be difficult for them to elaborate at that moment. The findings of this study allowed for a comprehensive view on the collaborators' cultural knowledge, in relation to their interaction with the health system, as well as their expectations in the pregnancy-puerperal cycle.