Introduction

Preterm Labor is a situation that many women experience. This condition might affect the normal course of pregnancy, impacting the life of the woman in labor and her family, primarily in the emotional, cognitive and behavioral areas.

Purpose

To understand the meanings of family experiences during preterm labor.

Materials and Methods

This is a qualitative research carried out with 23 relatives of women who had preterm labor attended at two public hospitals in Feira de Santana in Bahia. Data were collected between March and July 2015 through semi-structured interviews which were subjected to thematic analysis. It was approved by the research ethics committee.

Results

After analyzing data, four categories were created: Experiencing PL situations that were initially unexpected; suffering during intra-hospital preterm labor; demonstrating faith; relieving after labor.

Discussion

It was verified that most relatives were not aware of the signs and symptoms and needed to go searching for care provision. Diverse emotions were triggered such as worry, anguish, sadness and nervousness. Faith was identified as the main support strategy. After birth, the main identified emotions were relief and happiness.

Conclusions

Regarding the researched context, it is clear in the study that there is a lack of information in the health network, which calls the attention on the importance of efficient and quality care. Relatives should receive support from health care professionals to face this situation in the best possible way.

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