Changes to Lifestyle Due to Pregnancy and Childbirth Mudanças no Estilo de Vida Provocadas pela Gravidez e Parto

Pregnancy is a period of transition and change which not only has individual and social impacts but also biological, affective, family, economic political and cultural. The interaction of these factors determines the course of the pregnancy, thus the development of this research aimed to identify the changes in lifestyle caused by pregnancy and childbirth in Portuguese and immigrant woman in Portugal. This is a qualitative study using a semi-structured interview and data analysis, with verbatim classification of the interviews to eighty-two Portuguese and immigrant women, supported by Nvivo 10.It was observed that the primary changes to lifestyles due to pregnancy for these women were to eating habits, daily activity, exposure to danger, timetables and sleep, social and family relations, going out, self- care, work, clothing and shoes, travel, health monitoring, and sexual activity. As a majority of these women adopted healthier lifestyles during pregnancy, for themselves and their baby, they took advantage of the opportunity to quit some less healthy habits, such as tobacco, alcohol consumption and exposure to polluted environments. The primary change after childbirth reported by these women was that their lives began to revolve around their baby, therefore going out, domestic chores, work and sleep are condition by the baby's schedule as they always come in first.