Paternidade no puerpério em tempos de Covid 19: experiência de homens que fizeram o pré-natal

Abstract

The theme of paternity and care has become increasingly stronger in society and one of the initiatives in Brazil was the creation of partner prenatal care, in which the man is welcomed and cared for at the time he is inserted in pregnancy and co-responsibility with care since the puerperium. The new coronavirus pandemic changed the dynamics of care for women during pregnancy and puerperium and the partner's prenatal care. It also highlighted socioeconomic segregation, so that men are affected according to their social stratification. The research aimed to analyze the experience of fatherhood in the puerperal period in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic among men from different social strata and who had their partner's prenatal care. It is a qualitative research with a descriptive and exploratory approach. It was developed with men who had their partner's prenatal care, users of a Family Health Unit and with men who received private care. Data production took place in April and May 2021. Study participants were 11 men who met the following inclusion criteria: being 18 years old or older; having performed the partner's prenatal care and experiencing the puerperium period from 1 month to 6 months postpartum. The empirical material was produced online through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the discourse analysis technique. The results show that the prenatal consultation is the starting point for building the feeling of paternity. The responsibility and concern to meet the new demands of the baby appear in a striking way, but among those interviewed by the SUS, family provision is visible as a concern and a burden. The pandemic changed the family dynamics, with the privilege of participating users of the private network, who managed to maintain formal work at regular hours and in the home office and have greater involvement in the routine of care for the baby. SUS users remained in the model of the provider man, with long hours away from home, at work or in search of him, which limited their availability for more participatory fathering. Gender issues were redefined in the men's experience, but there is a strong influence of the SARS COV-2 pandemic, with the characteristics of the work being decisive as to the greater or lesser participation of the father in the care of the baby, which unfolds in partner support. Finally, the results of this study showed the complexity of the experience of fatherhood, which appears associated with subjective aspects and the social context in which this man is inserted. Studies that monitor paternity at different stages of the children's lives deserve to be expanded.