PERCEPTIONS OF RISK DURING PREGNANCY AMONGST URBAN WOMEN IN NORTHEASTBRAZIL

The aim of the study was to explore the influences on the perceptions of potential risks of pregnancy in a developing country. The perceptio ns were analyzed in order to construct a local explanatory model of he alth which could be compared to the activities promoted by the health services. The relationship of perceptions of risk to women's reported motivation for using the health services is assessed. The findings are presented in relation to four specific research questions: 1, How do women view the state of being pregnant? 2, What potential risks are as sociated with being pregnant? 3, How are these risks explained? 4, Wha t are women's motivations for using prenatal care services? The paper discusses the influence of the local explanatory model on women's perc eptions of health risks during pregnancy, the compatibility with the b iomedical model and the influence of either on the use of health servi ces by women. In the course of analysing the findings, a number of que stions emerged concerning the assumptions often underlying this kind o f study. First the results suggested that seeking one coherent explana tory medical model for local perceptions of risk may not be appropriat e. Secondly, different explanations for perceived risks does not neces sarily mean a conflict with the activities of the health services. Thi rdly, the explanatory model is only part of the influences on women's perceptions of health risks. The socio-economic context of their lives and the structure and practices of the local health system are equall y important factors. An approach based on different assumptions which locates individual experiences within the influences of explanatory me dical models, the socio-economic circumstances and the structure and p ractices of the health system provides a better understanding of how p erceptions of health risks are formed, how they influence use of the h ealth services and how they change over time.