Sobre a porta que abre por dentro : análise cultural do processo de formação de doulas para a assistência ao parto no Brasil.

Abstract

The activity of doulas was recognized, in 2013, as an occupation on the Health Area, intended to "provide continuous support to women in the pregnancy-puerperal cycle". To perform as a doula, individual undergoes training, whose purpose is to inform and instrument her/him about the issues related to gestation, childbirth and the puerperium. It has been recognized that much of the achievement in terms of the nowadays humanized birth s valorization is due to the efforts of the doulas. In a scenario, where the c-section is the most frequent way of birth, they seek to denature obstetric practices considered outdated in order to offer the population mechanisms of reflexivity on how to stand oneself in front of an obstetrical care institution. This work aims to understand the process of doulas qualification. Doulas are characterized as an emerging professional category, but has been demonstrating a significant political weight within the movement for the humanization of assistance to the childbirth. For that, this study was carried out in two stages. In the first one, a mapping of several doulas training courses in Brazil and interviews with five course coordinators were done. In the second stage of the research, a participant observation was made in a doulas training course and interviews were carried out with five students who participated in this course. Through an ethnography of the process of the doulas qualification, we will try to describe and analyze the categories presented in the narratives and dynamics of interaction in such a process. We also seek to reflect on the conceptual and evaluative assumptions that underlie a "natural" birth in a political-pedagogical project whose practices are still poorly mapped in Brazil.