From home to the third-dimension ultrasound: the paths in assistance of women assisted in the supplementary health sector of Porto Alegre – RS

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the care provided to women assisted in services of the supplementary health sector of Porto Alegre, RS, to better understand their experiences during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. It is an ethnographic qualitative study. Eight women were followed during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, all of them living in Porto Alegre, RS, who had received their prenatal care in the supplementary health sector. The data were collected through home visits, attendance in prenatal appointments, observations of moments which were pre-determined alongside the women, recorded and transcribed interviews, and a field journal that was used in all interactions. All information was analyzed based on the theoretical framework of Geertz. The results show similar individual experiences, with difficulties in relation to the choices of care, peregrination in the search for professionals and services, few available and qualified information, and the almost overwhelming force of a biomedical culture. The women’s fight for respect to their individualities and decisions stands out, as does the importance of the feminist movement’s support, aiming at the improvement of the experiences of labor and childbirth. However, it can be concluded that despite the attempts of escape, the health system utilizes its scientific and “certified” legitimization to enforce fear among the women, withholding their autonomy or courage to move on and modulating the paths they should take.