Relational autonomy and humanized birth: the challenge of approaching desires and practices in the SUS

Abstract

Abstract Rede Cegonha is a SUS assistance program that aims to decrease maternal and neonatal mortality through humanized and evidence-based obstetric practices. However, there still seems to be a gap between the desires of women at the time of delivery and what is offered by the care team. This study aims to unveil the limits of the woman's autonomy at the time of delivery in a hospital in the Rede Cegonha. The mothers answered open-ended questions in a personal interview and reported their birth experience. Content analysis was used to organize the speeches into categories of analysis. Fear of pain (which interferes with the woman's role), lack of dialogue with health professionals (perception of not being heard) and ignorance of the guidelines of Rede Cegonha appeared in the interviews as barriers to the significant experience of childbirth. For a real humanization experience, it is necessary to strengthen the dialogue between parturients and health team, to gather wishes and clinical protocols, as a way to affirm the autonomy of women in the face of childbirth.