Objective

To understand how the woman-mother of child/teenager with Cerebral Palsy takes care of herself.

Method

A qualitative study with a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach held in the Association of Parents and Friends of Exceptional Children in a municipality located in the south of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with ten mothers/caregivers of children/adolescents with cerebral palsy, between April and June 2015. For the collection of information there was used the participant observation and phenomenological interview, the interpretation by means of the hermeneutical approach. With regard to ethical considerations, the research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical School of the Federal University of Pelotas, Opinion N 1,001,573. It was also presented, read and delivered the word of Informed Consent Form (ICF).

Results

The care for herself the woman-mother is tied to the care for the child/adolescent. It refers to taking care of herself, sometimes means taking care of the health, which may be related to the treatment of beauty, mention yet, not taking self-care unless at the time of the shower, and, even so, the son is next.

Conclusion

The study brings contributions to the practice of nurse to subsidize strategies for these women of taking care of themselves, to assist them in the process of adaptation to the new situation and in the process of taking care of the child.

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