Mothers' ability to deliver care and tend to the needs of their children is considered to generate an adequate preventive environment for infant psychological development. This study describes the phenomenon of motherhood from the perspective of users of a mental health outpatient clinic in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, through Symbolic Interactionism theoretical framework. Ten women under treatment for at least one year and with at least one child between 7 and 12 years old were interviewed. Grounded Theory was used for data analysis, which enabled the development of a theory to explain the phenomenon: "of perceiving oneself in such a way as to keep fighting". The conclusion is that these women need to deal with, recognize and perceive themselves in their maternal role so as to keep on fighting limitations imposed by the disease. That these women come and see beyond their condition of mental disorder patients is another step towards the delivery of more adequate mental health services to meet this demand.
mental health; health services; psychiatric nursing