O significado e a vivência da maternidade para presidiárias

Abstract

Objective: Understanding the meaning and survival of motherhood for convict women. Method way: qualitative study, made up from July to December, 2012, in the four female penitentiaries under control of Penitentiary Administration Secretary of Paraiba. The data have been collected by the usage of a social demographic questionnaire and a part structured interview. The number of participants was determined by saturation of speech content, being closed with 17 women. The data were analyzed according to Bardin’s Content Analysis. Results: two articles called: The meaning of Motherhood for Convict Women and Motherhood Living in Penitentiaries in Paraiba came up. The interviewed showed predominantly age group of 20 and 25 years old, single, having around three children, having given birth for the first time at age of seventeen, they don’t have a religion, didn’t graduate high school, having an alcoholic history, as well as other kinds of drugs before going to prison, they are recidivists and have temporary judicial status. Conclusions: we could learn that for the interviewed, the meaning of motherhood is associated to keeping social role imposed to women, what implies in the social recognition, self satisfaction, divine blessings, and transformation possibilities. The motherhood experience in prison has been shared with suffering, family division and separation, despite of the presence of the child with the mother to be considered as some comfort inside anguish.