Prenatal care for traveling circus women in the Unified Health System

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the prenatal experiences of women from traveling circuses within the Unified Health System. This is an exploratory and descriptive study employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The research subjects were traveling circus women who had previously become pregnant and received prenatal care through the Unified Health System. The study setting was the circuses of Rio de Janeiro. Data collection was conducted using Google Forms and interviews, which were subjected to Bardin's content analysis. Five women (with 11 pregnancies) were interviewed. Their average age was 30 years, 80% were from Rio de Janeiro, 80% were mixed race/ black, and were in a stable relationship. During their pregnancies, 100% of the women traveled with the circus. 72.72% had more than six prenatal appointments, and 60% did not participate in any educational activities. Through the qualitative data, two categories emerged: From the change of location to the reception of traveling circus women, and the Difficulty of prenatal care. Although the continuity of prenatal care for most traveling circus women was within the Ministry of Health's recommendations, the reception and assistance they received during this period were inadequate regarding educational activities.