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.
Highlights
The transition from woman to mother is a major event, as becoming a mother entails shifting from a known reality toward a new and unknown reality[1]
Throughout the whole phase of development and maturity leading to the role of ‘parents’, several expectations arise, almost all connected to health care
The category that stood out in terms of women’s expectations was high quality health care, which had been fulfilled in most cases
Summary
The transition from woman to mother is a major event, as becoming a mother entails shifting from a known reality toward a new and unknown reality[1]. Throughout the whole phase of development and maturity leading to the role of ‘parents’, several expectations arise, almost all connected to health care During this process, the mother-to-be can find herself vulnerable and, anticipate that her expectations are met for her satisfaction and personal fulfillment. The difference between conjectured and fulfilled reality generates experiences that are usually negative due to the frustration of expectations This can determine the woman’s future attitude and perspective on the subject of being a mother.the more negative the experience, as being out of tune with her expectations, the harder the adjustment of the woman to her new situation will be. Women’s expectations are constantly changing, and institutions must adopt conditions appropriate to their needs[4] This will require an effective health care policy, including services providing integrated and high quality health care to expectant parents, through qualified and experienced professionals. This is the kind of high quality services and health care that most pregnant women, parturients and women who have recently given birth expect to receive
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