ABSTRACT
Objective
to know the experiences of primiparous women regarding the care practices provided by nursing professionals during natural childbirth.
Method
a qualitative, descriptive study, conducted with ten primiparous mothers at a maternity hospital in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, between February and April 2014, based on individual semi-structured interviews. The data were submitted to thematic content analysis according to the operative proposal.
Results
the data were grouped into the following categories: The fear of not being able to give birth naturally and the encouragement of the nursing staff; The experience of pain in natural childbirth; Support versus distance; Good or bad childbirth experience? “It was worth it in the end!”
Conclusions
the provided care has a direct impact on the experience and how the women cope with the process of childbirth.
Delivery of health care; Natural childbirth; Labour, obstetric; Nursing; Millennium Development Goals