Occupational therapy with puerperas in obstetric ward

Abstract

This research aimed to know the opinion of undergraduate students in Occupational Therapy and of resident
occupational therapists regarding the performance of Occupational Therapy with puerperal women in a hospital context, from their practical experiences in an obstetric ward of a university hospital in Paraíba. This is an exploratory, descriptive and qualitative study, with 11 Occupational Therapy students and 5 resident occupational therapists. The data was collected through a profile characterization form of the participants and a semi-structured
interview. The purpose of this data is to know the participants’ perception of the performance regarding Occupational Therapy with puerperal women in an obstetric ward. Two thematic axes emerged from the Content Analysis: “Potentials of Occupational Therapy with Puerperal Women in Obstetric Ward” and
“Weaknesses and Challenges of Occupational Therapy in the Field”. Results reveal contributions of Occupational Therapy to hospitalized mothers by minimizing impacts caused by the hospital context. This helps them to re-signify their space and daily
life, and to play the occupational role of motherhood. Moreover, the results point out the need for the insertion of occupational therapists and specific publications in the field