Between discouragements and overcomings: the resignification of the prisoner in the transforming role of mother in prison

The aim of this article was to understand the experiential process of incarcerated women in state custody with assistance in the prison and health systems, from prenatal to postpartum, extending to the newborn up to six months of age, and to develop a theoretical model that represents it. This is a qualitative study, with individual in-depth interviews, audio-recorded and transcribed in full. Theoretical saturation was achieved by analyzing the 26th interview, in the light of Grounded Theory, with women who had experienced pregnancy and childbirth in prisons in the interior of the state of São Paulo. Four sub-processes emerged from this analysis: (A) discovering herself pregnant and in prison: between reduced autonomy and resilience for the imagined baby; (B) changing her conviction about normal childbirth during prenatal care: from fear to self-confidence; (C) considering the humanization of childbirth to be part of the inmate's re-socialization; (D) moving between the pleasures of breastfeeding and the pains of weaning to separate from the baby. From the realignment of the components of these sub-processes, the central category emerged: between discouragement and overcoming: the resignification of the prisoner in the transforming role of mother in prison as an intervening component. The theoretical model assumes that the humanized assistance offered by the prison-health system will contribute to the future re-socialization of these women, enabling them to re-signify their role as mothers in prison, with a commitment to change for their child(ren) and family when they are released.