Percepções das gestantes quanto à escolha da via de parto

This study aimed to know the perceptions of pregnant women regarding the choice of the route of delivery. Descriptive study with a qualitative approach was conducted with pregnant women from a municipality in the Northwest region of the State of Parana. Data were collected through semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews. For data treatment, the discourse of the collective subject was adopted. Participants were twenty pregnant women, 13 of whom undergoing cesarean delivery. According to the responses to the interviews, 25 key expressions were generated and five central ideas were originated: A – “Preference for vaginal childbirth”, in which half of the pregnant women initially opted for this route of delivery; B – “Indication for cesarean section”, with nine pregnant women (45%) with medical indication, despite the previous preference for vaginal delivery; C – “Choice for cesarean section”, with four (20%) women who chose this route due to fear of labor pain; D – “Satisfaction with the route of delivery performed”, in which all women (35%) undergoing vaginal delivery expressed satisfaction with this route; E – “Duality between satisfaction and suffering with the childbirth performed”, in which all women who underwent cesarean section experienced this mixed feeling. This study concluded that half of the pregnant women have a preference for vaginal delivery, but the majority had a cesarean delivery. In the perception of pregnant women, the choices for cesarean delivery were due to medical indication, fear, insecurity and desire for sterilization. Educational actions are suggested to reduce insecurities in the decisions of pregnant women and enable autonomy in the conscious choice regarding the route of delivery.