OBJECTIVE: To understand the meaning the healthcare professional in charge of the woman in childbirth gives to labor and humanizing delivery. METHODS: This is a qualitative research with a phenomenological perspective. Seven physicians and four nurses working at the obstetric center of a public hospital in the city of São Paulo were interviewed. RESULTS: After data analysis, two subthemes emerged: Understanding labor and humanizing delivery as a group of differentiated healthcare and behavioral measures, and Identifying failures in the search for healthcare humanization. CONCLUSION: The study showed that there are still disagreements regarding what is understood as humanizing delivery and what is done in practice. Humanization remains a government policy that is far from efficient, not only because of infrastructural deficits or financial shortages, but because of a lack of contact with the theme, resulting in healthcare that is not individualized or human.
Humanizing delivery; Humanization of assistance; Professional practice; Obstetrical nursing
