Narrative of professionals about pregnant women with severe mental disorders

Pregnant women with mental disorders have characteristics that need to be investigated, such as a history of drug use that continues during pregnancy. The aim was to analyze professionals' narratives about caring for pregnant women with severe mental illness. This is a descriptive and analytical study with a qualitative approach. The interviewees were professionals who had been working in the RAPS for more than 6 months and who had had the opportunity to care for pregnant women with severe mental illness. Those who were away from the service during the data collection period were excluded. Narrative analysis according to Minayo was used. The sample consisted of 17 professionals. The results were organized into two categories of analysis: vulnerabilities and social stigma. Pregnant women experience situations of social vulnerability, gender violence and stigmatization due to their psychological condition, which makes vulnerability a permanent wound. The presentation of women in society anchored in their uterus is an influence of patriarchal society, which is anchored in the reproductive cycle and distances them from important social issues, such as the absence of a father during pregnancy and childbirth. The burden and responsibility of these roles leads these women to live under judgment and social pressure, turning their older children into their caregivers.