PREPARATION OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COMPANION IN THE PARTURITIVE PROCESS: AN EXPERIENCE REPORT

Abstract

The movement for humanized childbirth in Brazil has been described separately in several states since the 1980s. Among the measures of humanized childbirth, the woman's right to be accompanied during the parturition process stands out. In Brazil, as of April 2005, Law No. 11,108 came into effect, which guarantees parturients the right to the presence of a companion during labor, delivery and immediate postpartum, within the scope of the Unified Health System – SUS. Since then, there has been an interest in reorganizing services; implementation of the practice by professionals and increased participation of the companion chosen by the woman during childbirth. The present work is an experience report of nurses with the nursing team of a Maternity Hospital - in the city of Alexandria-RN, aiming to report the experience of nurses in an intervention project to build facilitating illustrative material, in order to contribute to the health education process and thereby guide companions about their importance in being co-participants in the care provided to women in the parturition process and to their newborns. There was the participation of 26 nursing professionals, using a semi-structured questionnaire to map the opinion and expectations of the participants involved with the project regarding the importance and difficulties in welcoming and approaching the companion during his stay with the woman in labor. It was hoped that the material would facilitate the interaction between the nursing team, the parturient woman, and her companion, and, with that, the health education process would occur, improving the assistance to the woman and companion in the pre-delivery, delivery, and postpartum periods in the aforementioned institution.