Significance of Self-Care and Prenatal Care among Displaced Pregnant Women

Abstract

This study is part of Maternal and Perinatal Care Based on Transcultural Nursing, a research project being developed by the Nursing Faculty at the National University of Colombia. Broadly speaking, its aim is to explore the significance of self-care and prenatal care for a group of displaced pregnant women living at Bogotá, based on their own beliefs and practices.

The study was conducted during 2006 in Suba and Ciudad Bolivar, which are two of the largest districts in the nation’s capital. The research is qualitative and uses the ethnonursing method. Spradley’s ethnographic analysis was applied for data management. The target group was comprised of 12 pregnant women; data collection was based on personal and group interviews, as well as observation.

The focus was on “the significance of self-care and prenatal care among displaced pregnant women”. One of the lessons derived from the study concerns how these women manage to adapt and to find ways to protect and care for their unborn children.