High-Risk Pregnancy and Social Determinants of Health: A Discursive Analysis

Objective: To understand the meanings that women who have experienced a high-risk pregnancy attribute to the social determinants of health. Method: This descriptive and qualitative study was conducted at a university hospital, a referral center for high-risk prenatal care, labor, and childbirth in a region of southeastern Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 postpartum women between April 2023 and February 2024, and analyzed using Michel Pêcheux’s French discourse analysis approach. Results: The results were organized into two discursive chunks: The influence of the female role on the social determinants of health; and Behavioral characteristics during the experience of a high-risk pregnancy: adherence to treatment determined by socio-historical subjectivization. Conclusion: The discursive formations demonstrated how the subject position is rooted in the ideology that is sustained by the place that women historically occupy in society, as it describes how socioeconomic vulnerability, exposure to stressors, the limited capacity of the health system and its public policies interfere with the behaviors and lifestyles of pregnant women classified as high-risk pregnancies.