Experiência de primíparas com o parto vaginal em uma maternidade pública

Abstract

Introduction: The World Health Organization recommends that childbirth should not only be safe, but also provide a pleasant experience for women, since a negative childbirth experience can have long-lasting adverse consequences. These include psychological and sleep disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, mood and appetite changes, sexual dysfunction, decreased desire for subsequent pregnancies, impaired mother-child bonding and lower breastfeeding rates. Despite the progress made, the current context of normal childbirth care still shows weaknesses. Aspects such as inefficient communication, disrespectful attitudes on the part of professionals and a lack of emotional support are still prevalent and cause a sense of suffering, contempt and dissatisfaction among women experiencing childbirth in Brazil. Objective: To evaluate the experience of primiparous women about vaginal birth in a public maternity hospital. Methodology: This was a descriptive, quantitative, cross-sectional study carried out in a public maternity hospital in Ceará. The study population was made up of primiparous puerperae, in the vaginal postpartum period, admitted to a rooming-in unit. The study included primiparous puerperae who had given birth spontaneously vaginally, had full-term pregnancies with cephalic fetuses, were over 18 years old, literate and had live fetuses. Puerperae with communication difficulties were excluded. Data was collected in September and October 2024 using a sociodemographic and obstetric questionnaire prepared by the author and the Brazilian version of the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ-2BR). The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel, considering the absolute and relative frequencies, mean, standard deviation and median of the variables. The study was approved by the institution's Research Ethics Committee, under Report No. 6.979.309/2024. Results: The sample consisted of 30 participants, the majority of whom were over 19 years old, married or in a stable union, self-declared black and educated to high school level. This study showed a positive perception of labor and childbirth. The dimensions of the childbirth experience that obtained the most satisfactory results were, in descending order, Professional support, Participation, Self-capacity and Perception of safety. Conclusion: The satisfactory experience may be related to the use of good obstetric practices, but aspects that refer to the medicalized model of childbirth care should be reviewed, with a view to the constant evolution of the services offered.