Explorando las emociones de la mujer en la atención perinatal. Un estudio cualitativo

Resumen

Objective: To explore women’s emotions during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period throughout the primary and hospital care itinerary. Method: Qualitative study based on Grounded Theory. Two discussion groups were held with obstetricians, midwives and nurses. In-depth interviews were conducted with women in the postpartum period. Results: Women’s emotions in perinatal care are a central category. Based on this category, negative emotions emerge from the interaction between five meta-categories: a) Fear: childbirth pain and mismatched expectations, b) Anxiety and uncertainty: facing the threat of risk and misinformation, c) Shame: compromising privacy, d) Anger and helplessness: asymmetry in the relational structure, e) Loneliness: discontinued care. Positive emotions emerge from meta-category: f) Calm and confidence: building a symmetrical and humanized clinical interaction. Conclusions: The researchers found an emotional variability due to the coexistence of the technocratic and bio-psycho-social models. These models cast a sense of humanism on perinatal care, compared to a biomedical model marked by a paternalistic, relational structure and a fragmented care; both are decisive in the emergence of emotions in perinatal care.