Workshops for pregnant women in the Basic Health Units of Jataí (GO): Knowledge Integrating Activities

Abstract

The Department of Health of Brazil recommends that educational activities should be carried out through the whole gestation period and after delivery. For integral care, attention to women's health in the prenatal and postpartum periods should be multidisciplinary and multi-professional. Among the professionals involved, there is the physical therapist who provides assistance during pregnancy and after childbirth. In this context, a university extension project for the course of physical therapy was created in the Universidade Federal de Goiás - Regional Jataí to promote educational workshops with the pregnant women who are receiving prenatal care at the Basic Health Units (BHU) of the district of Jataí-GO. The purpose of the workshops was to physically prepare women for pregnancy and childbirth and to hold discussions on several topics related to the gestational and postpartum periods. The aim of this article is to describe the experience of carrying out these workshops. A rich exchange of experience among the pregnant women, the students involved and the health team was observed. We believe that there was a contribution to empowerment of women regarding their pregnancy and postpartum periods, as knowledge and information exchange occurred. Furthermore, the workshops promoted the interaction between the pregnant women of the community and the University. They also contributed to the women's integral health care during the gestational and postpartum periods.