This is a study of a qualitative nature, with the objective to comprehend the network of symbols and significances expressed by nurses and families living through the narrative period in a multiple-patient recovery room of the Maternity Ward in a public hospital. The theoretical support for this study is founded on anthropological studies that utilize narrative therapies in data collection and interpretation. In order to collect the data, participative observation techniques and ethnographic interviews were applied. The process of categorizing and analyzing the data was based upon Ethno-nursing. The principle results indicate that within the context of this investigation, workers seek the transformation of the clinical period into the narrative period, adopting suppositions that identify with the woman who has given birth, the newborn, and the family as an "other" involved with exceptions. They also identify with the need to individualize their care. Beyond that, the narrative period is evoked through lucid performances, use of non-verbal communication, and the daily exercise of "patience".
Rooming in care; Culture; Nursing care