Vivência e expectativa de doulas em região de fronteira

Abstract

Introduction: The etymology of the word doula comes from the Greek and means “the onethat serves”. Doulas are women who work providing physical and emotional support to women during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium. Being a doula is an incipient occupation in the health services of the border region between Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and there is no specific scientific evidence on their performance in this region. Objective: To understand the experience and expectations of doulas thatact in the puerperal pregnancy cycle that involves pregnancy, childbirth, birth and the puerperium in a border region, including the municipalities of Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná and Cascavel, Paraná. Metodologia: Qualitative research based on the methodological and theoretical framework of Alfred Schütz, carried out from July 2020 to February 2021 in the municipalities of Foz do Iguaçu and Cascavel, both located in the western region of the State of Paraná. Ten doulas participated in this study. The technique for collecting the information was through interviews conducted online via Google Meet and Zoom with a semi-structured script in Portuguese. Results: The results of this research were divided in to six categories of analysis, being: 1. Motivation to become a doula; 2. Know ledge about the role of the doula; 3. The daily experience of doulas, covering the Subcategories: 3.1. Successful experiences and 3.2. The challenges of doulagem in the border region, and; 4. The invisibility of the doulage. The following two categories refer to the“Reasons for”: 5. Expectations as doulas in the face of the obstetric scenario and 6. What is expected with regard to the doula's action. Final considerations: The results of the study showed that in the exercise of their role in the SUS, in the private sector and in home births, the doulas demonstrating the satisfaction in multiprofessional performance, when the work is recognized and integrated by other care professionals and the frustration when there is resistance in the obstetric scenario. Regarding the performance in the border region, the doulas reported the accompaniment of paraguayan women in Brazil and, less frequently, in Paraguay. Cultural and linguistic barriers were highlighted by a doula as reasons for making professional practice unfeasible in another country.