Pregnant women's perception and perspective on the labour process in educational workshops

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to describe the pregnant women's perceptions on the delivery process. 10 women joined in the educational workshop first edition. The pregnant ladies were participating in a pioneering program sponsored by the Human Resources Department at a university in Curitiba, Paraná. The workshops were held from September to October 2008 with the contribution of the university's professors and employees and it approached issues related to the pregnancy cycle. Database was collected via individual interviews at the participants'workplace and recorded by digital equipment. We used a semi structured interview guide for data collection. After the transcription, data was submitted to a thematic content analysis. Two themes have been identified: a) participation in the workshops made possible for the pregnant women to share and strengthen their personal experience; b) the educational workshop contributed to expand the women's perspective about the childbirth process. The results show that this learning modality allows the sharing of experiences and that it can contribute to the consolidation of the pregnant women's perceptions and to the strengthening of their decisions about childbirth. Apart from the results achieved it is worth highlighting the initiative of starting up the program. The workshop demonstrated the importance of widening an educational modality that involves pregnant women in their own working environment.