Mulher,mãe e universitária: desafios e possibilidades de conciliar a maternidade à vida acadêmica

Abstract

The theme of experiencing motherhood and academic life has gained prominence in academic production, showing disadvantages for women when they experience motherhood during graduation, as it is still on the female gender that, in our culture, the responsibilities of parental care fall. Given this panorama, the present research aimed to analyze the challenges and the possibilities of reconciling motherhood with the academic life of the mothers students of the Occupational Therapy course at Campus I of the Federal University of Paraíba -UFPB, as well as knowing their trajectories at the intersection of maternity experiences and academic demands and to identify the factors that influence university permanence. The research has a qualitative character with an exploratory descriptive characteristic. Data collection took place through semi-structured interviews. Interviews were carried out with five young universitystudents, students of the Occupational Therapy course at UFPB, aged between 19 and 29 years old, who experience motherhood and who have children aged 3 months to 6 years old. The data were analyzed using Bardin's thematic content analysis technique. From the data analysis, three thematic categories were identified: 1. “Today I am a university mother” -Trajectories of student mothers at the intersection of maternity experiences and academic demands; 2. “I feel that I am neither a good mother nor a good student” -Difficulties in reconciling academic life with motherhood and 3. “If it weren't for my support network, I wouldn't be able to” -Possibilities and university permanence. The results obtained bring a new perspective on the experience of martenity inthe academic context, demonstrating that the search for strategies for university permanence is necessary, since the university is still apathetically positioned against the adversities faced by this public. We conclude that there is a need to discuss about this reality of being a mother and student in the academic context, to excite debates and reflection on the theme, as well as the concern with attempts to facilitate this experience based on public and institutional actions and policies.