ROMAGNOLO, A. N. Percepção de puérperas a respeito da influência do relacionamento conjugal no ciclo gravídico-puerperal [Perception of postpartum women regarding the influence of the marital relationship on the pregnancy-puerperal cycle]. Master’s Dissertation – Universidade Metodista de São Paulo. São Bernardo do Campo (SP), 2018.
Available at: http://tede.metodista.br/jspui/bitstream/tede/1752/2/Adriana%20N.%20Romagnolo.pdf
Abstract: Between the 1970s and 1980s there was a mobilization to evaluate childbirth care worldwide. The main subjects on the schedule were the high rates of cesarean section and the excessive medicalization of the labor process, both without scientific evidence, in several places of the world. The Ministry of Health defends various practices about women’s health and procedures that benefit marital relationships. Therefore, this study aimed to verify the perception of women about their marital relationship during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum, as well as to investigate the interference of the conjugal relationship in the representation of the self-image, in the delivery model, in the exercise maternity and adaptation to this new role, in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and WHO. Three women with different birth experiences participated in this study, including elective cesarean surgery, delivery with humanized assistance and delivery with obstetric violence. The instruments used were: Semi-open interview; Thematic-Drawing-and-Story Procedure [D-E (T)]; Factorial Scale for Satisfaction with the Double Relationship (EFS-RC); sociodemographic questionnaire and Rosenberg’s Self-esteem Scale. The results showed that the way each participant perceives the marital relationship has considerable influence on the psychic aspects analyzed not only in the postpartum period, but throughout the pregnancy-puerperal cycle. In the participant of Cesarean Elective, it is possible to notice a weakened conjugal bond, medical decision about the way of delivery, marked difficulty in the exercise of maternity and self-image, and compromised self-esteem. In the participant of Childbirth with Humanized Assistance, the bond is strengthened, the delivery appears as a decision of the couple, the participant is in the process of adapting the maternal function and the compromised self-image, but the self-esteem is compensatory. In childbirth with obstetric Violence, marital bonding is absent, childbirth was a medical imposition, present difficulty in the exercise of motherhood alone, and self-image and self-esteem are compensatory. Thus, it is understood the need to expand the study with a greater number of participants and in-depth analysis of the quantitative instruments, as well as the importance of psychological intervention models during pregnancy such as preventive action, health promotion and strengthening of the couple’s bond and strengthening of public policies that guarantee the rights of women.