Presenting Author: Amelia Augusta Lima Friche, PhD, Drexel Urban Health Collaborative and Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Background: Cesarean rates and iatrogenic prematurity are high in Brazil, issues of social and public health relevance. It is related to immediate and future risk of morbidity and mortality, such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes and asthma. The Senses of Birth is an art-education exhibit that promotes critical reflection and value normal childbirth.

Methods: The exhibition has been in 5 different cities (Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Niterói, Brasília and Ceilândia) since 2015, achieving 37.000 visitors and engaging 67.000 people through social media. It involves and touches the visitor that first ""gets pregnant"", goes through a commercial harassment and a controversial dialogue about childbirth and finally is born through a giant womb. Conversation is stimulated using poetic and informative texts, pictures and videos. Visitors were interviewed about knowledge, feelings and perception of childbirth in a simple random sample of 5% (entrance) and 5% (exit) of the exhibition.

Results: Visitor were mainly women (81.4%), average age of 31.6 years, 53.6% with family income less than 5 minimum wages and 51.0% college degree; 73.6% had health insurance and 51.2% declared themselves as black; 8,4% were pregnant women. There was a significant change in knowledge and perception about normal birth (67.5%); perception of normal birth as “excellent” changed from 41.0% to 81.6%.

Conclusion: The positive evaluation and change of opinion reported by the visitors suggests that the objective of promoting a reflexive approach on the mode of delivery was achieved and it is a potential effective approach to promote normal birth and improve health for the population.

Authors: Amelia Augusta Lima Friche, PhD; Sonia Lansky, MD, PhD; Bernardo Jefferson Oliveira, PhD; and Kleyde Ventura, RN, PhD.