Vivências dos homens que participaram do parto domiciliar planejado de suas companheiras

Abstract

In the past, deliveries and births were attended at home by women known as lay midwives, excluding the father figure. In the 18th century, when childbirth became institutionalized and medicalized, there was the insertion of the male figure in this scenario, but it was not yet the partner of the parturient and consisted of the medical professional. This reality has changed since the Companion Law, published in 2005, allowing the woman to choose a person she trusts to be by her side during the parturition process. However, paternal participation was still a figuration, with little representation. It was, then, from the increased demand for planned home births that men became part of the process in a different way. Given the above, this research aimed to understand the experiences of men who participated in the planned home birth of their partners. This was an exploratory descriptive study, with a qualitative approach, carried out with 14 men living in the southern region of Brazil, in municipalities of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, over 18 years of age, who followed at least one planned home birth and birth of a child and who remained with their partner throughout the process of labor, delivery and immediate and mediate postpartum. Data were collected through interviews guided by a semi-structured script, carried out online, on a videoconferencing platform and underwent thematic content analysis. All ethical aspects were respected and the project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul under opinion number 5,154,541 and CAAE number 52942621.5.0000.5564. From the analysis of the data, the categorization of the participants was presented, as well as the themes: "The father's view under the pregnancy-puerperal process" and "Born and reborn of a father". The first theme comprised the men's view of the pregnancy-puerperal process experienced by their partners and the second theme addressed the aspects involved in the birth and rebirth of a father before the arrival of a child. The participation of men in the PDP was marked by a singularity of feelings, the most cited being wonderful, unspeakable and indescribable sensations. In addition, men provided their partners with security, support, and responsibility, which contributed to a more harmonious and positive birth experience.