The experience and strategies of gypsy women with the birth of their children: the reality of the gypsy world in the Public Health System of the Federal District, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: to understand the experiences and strategies of gypsy women to access the public health system during prenatal, childbirth and postpartum periods. Methods: qualitative research was undertaken, whose data collection was conducted through a semi-structured interview, with five gypsy women of Calon ethnicity, aged between 22 and 54 years old, living in the Federal District, Brazil. Through a phenomenological approach, it was used the concepts of experience proposed by Schutz and of strategy by Michael Bury. Results: only one participant claims to have performed prenatal care in one of her pregnancies, three attended healthcare sporadically and one said she had never sought health service. All women reported cultural difficulties when dealing with the Unified Health System (SUS). Conclusion: for these women, the concept of health is based on the absence of diseases and the SUS is perceived as just a magnetic card; the highest demand is the gypsy ethnicity to be recognized by the public health system.