A loucura de ser mãe: vivências da maternidade por mulheres em sofrimento psíquico em Manaus, Amazonas

Abstract

This study was developed from the understanding that mental health goes beyond the absence of illness. Taking the paradigm of Psychiatric Reform and the new models of action and intervention in health as the starting point, we sought to understand how they relate mental health experiences with maternal experiences. The objective was to analyze the experience of motherhood of women in psychic suffering in Manaus-AM. The qualitative methodology was used to conduct the investigative process. It was used the Life Story, Free Association of Words, Closed Questionnaire about data on socialdemographics and health while instruments of data collection. The analysis of the findings was based on Historical-Cultural Psychology, Subjectivity Theory and Social Network Theory, allowing the understanding of complex questions of the experience lived by the research subjects. The literature review in the area pointed to the lack of research on the subject. The results achieved state that the diagnosis in mental health still appears as the main condition of the subject. The health services of the municipality are not yet acting to contemplate the integrality of mothers in psychological distress. The health services of the municipality are not yet acting to contemplate the integrality of mothers in psychological distress. The appreciation of the psychosocial aspects that influence the experience of motherhood of these women can help in understanding the illness and, when empowered, act as a protective factor. Social support networks were seen as a source of alternative care to assistance services. The participation of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and church members in the production of care favored the process of acceptance of illness, improved self-esteem and contributed significantly to personal well-being. It was identified that the explanatory models for the use of care systems applied references to opinions, feelings, emotions, beliefs, desires and the life story itself. The use of the concept of therapeutic itinerary highlights the subject and allows for the adoption of more effective strategies for mental health care. The study offers elements to suggest the inclusion of a critical reflection on the theme of mental health and the care offered to women in psychological suffering, in order to broaden the view about the subject, contemplating them beyond the place of carriers of a disease.