The objective of this study is learn the political context and the teaching environment of the formation of gaucho (from the State of Rio Grande do Sul) nurses in the obstetrical area and how this took place in the first years of operation of a University hospital in Porto Alegre, RS. The method used was the presuppositions of the New History and the methodology of the Oral History. The recollection of data was made using a semi-structured interview with thematic analysis. The analysis and discussion was focused on the health policies of that period of time, and on the education and practice of the nurses for labour and childbirth. We considered that the non-remuneration of the births performed by the nurses, the increasing number of students in Medicine courses and the competition in obtaining spaces for practice were reasons for nurses to give up performing labour and birth procedures. We must point out that, notwithstanding, it was not a peaceful and non-resistance process.
Obstetrics; History of Nursing; Professional Practice