Home delivery as voiced by women: a perspective at the light of humanization

Abstract

This paper is a descriptive exploratory study developed with the objective of getting acquainted with life experiences, preparation, feelings and motivations of women who have chosen home childbirth. The subjects of the research comprised ten women who had at least one experience of home childbirth in Porto Alegre, in the last five years. The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed according to Minayo’s proposal. It indicates that the women who opted for home childbirth don’t accept what the hospital system offers to women in labor at present time, but they do recognize that, for a few women, hospital delivery is the best choice, whether for reasons that involve personal decisions or health ones.