Social representations of health professionals in the hospital area about planned home birth

Objective: apprehending the social representations of health professionals in the hospital area about the planned home birth. Method: a qualitative study based on the Theory of Social Representations and conducted with 15 health professionals of a teaching hospital. Data were collected in the second half of 2019 through semi-structured interviews. Thematic Content Analysis. Results: the reports originated two themes: 1) Home birth: one possibility, with eligibility criteria and 2) Home birth: a miscellany of concepts, opinions and interpretations. The social group investigated understands planned home birth as an option of care, with eligibility criteria. However, a association of this mode of birth with urgent/emergency situations prevails in the collective sense, with potential risk for women and newborns. Conclusion: the shared representations reveal the generalization of information without scientific support about planned home birth.