The meaning of prenatal care for pregnant women: an experience in the city of Campo Grande, Brazil

Abstract

The main goal of this qualitative research was to know the meaning and importance of prenatal care for pregnant women who live in the area covered by the Family Health Unit of "Jardim Marabá", city of Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. In view of the fact that common sense is a determining factor of people's lifestyle, health professionals should pay attention to it in order to know what circulates through popular knowledge, embedded in cultural and social factors and intertwined with scientific knowledge. Twenty-one pregnant women in all trimesters of pregnancy participated in the research. Data were collected through open, individual interviews. The Discourse of the Collective Subject was applied to organize the data, and Social Representations Theory was used as the theoretical framework. The results showed that, for these women, prenatal care is a prescriptive act, and its importance is related to the baby's health.