This is a explorative-descriptive study with a qualitative character, that portrait the traditional midwives of Envira, city of the state of Amazonas, where 80% of the childbirths are made by them. The objective is to characterize the experience of care when they help to give birth, these midwives. 29 midwives took part of the study. The data were colleted from recorded interviews. The information were analyzed in accordance with analysis of content. Six categories were highlighted: Envira midwives - who are they: occupation when attending the birth; attend the birth - how much wor th this “gift”; problems faced by midwives; problems frequently found by the midwives in the gestation/childbirth; and relationship with the health service. The conclusion says that there is a long way to go in reversing the tables of diseases, poverty and abandonment. A way in which the trained midwives will play an important role affecting many women, setting up as concrete multipliers of knowledge.
Nursing; Women’s health; Home Childbirth; Public politics
