Companion Of Choice Research Articles

Reasons which lead the health services not to allow the presence of the birth companion: nurses' discourses

This qualitative research aimed to investigate the reasons the health services of Santa Catarina, Brazil, do not allow the presence of the birth partner of choice of women in the birthing process. The data were collected from September 2011 to January 2012 through semi-structured interviews with 12 nurses responsible for obstetric centers which did not permit, or permitted sometimes, the presence of the birth companion. The interviews were analyzed using the Discourse of the Collective Subject, in which three themes emerged: professionals' resistance to the presence of the companion; lack of physical infrastructure and human and material resources; and the institution's resistance to implementing the Companion's Law. The discourses show that impeding the presence of the companion is mainly related to the decision of the professionals and the inadequacy of the organizational structure. This requires changes in the attitude of the staff, institutional support, and management strategies to increase the support for the presence of the woman's companion of choice.

A inserção do acompanhante de parto nos serviços públicos de saúde de Santa Catarina, Brasil

Pesquisa descritiva, quantitativa, que objetivou descrever a inserção do acompanhante de escolha da parturiente durante o trabalho de parto, parto e pós-parto imediato nos serviços vinculados ao Sistema Único de Saúde que prestam assistência ao parto em Santa Catarina/Brasil, e identificar os aspectos que facilitaram e dificultaram esse processo. A população foi composta pelos 138 serviços do estado. Os dados foram coletados de maio/2010 a junho/2011, por meio de questionário enviado aos diretores e por contato telefônico, e posteriormente analisados por estatística descritiva. Dos 135 serviços contatados, 54,8% referiram que sempre permitem a presença do acompanhante, 32,6% permitem às vezes, 11,9% nunca permitem e 0,7% não responderam. A maioria dos serviços permite a presença do acompanhante. No entanto, em alguns deles essa prática ainda é implementada com restrições, pois a escolha da parturiente não é respeitada e impede-se a permanência do acompanhante no momento do parto.

Parturient´s companion and their relationship with the nursing team: a qualitative study

The participation of the parturient´s companion of choice during the birth process was pointed as one of the factors that contribute for a humanized childbirth. The aim of this study was to identify the nursing team’s perceptions regarding the presence of the companion during childbirth. This descriptive qualitative research was carried through the months of May and June of 2008 with 15 members of the nursing team who give assistance to women in labor in a maternity of reference in Fortaleza. The data was collected from interviews, free observations and standards and routines of the institution and analyzed according to Bardin’s method. Although the lack of a previous preparation of the companion was the main difficulty pointed out, the interviews revealed a good acceptance of these companions from the nursing team’s behalf. There are evidence of the benefits that the companions’ presence are decisive to the humanized birth assistance, so it must be pointed out that individual resistance attitudes towards the companions presence need to be overcomed in order to achieve success in this assistencial proposal.