Pregnancy and drugs: what healthcare do women want?

Abstract Background The use of psychoactive substances has increased among women, surrounded by discrimination, frustrations, and violations of rights. This theme is on the debate agenda of the current policies on women’s mental health in Brazil, immersed in tensions facing new public funding proposals. Objective The aim of this study was to describe, from the perspective of women users of psychoactive substances, the characteristics desired for prenatal care. Method In a university extension activity articulated to a Brazilian formative program called PET-Networks of Care, this exploratory, qualitative, field study was conducted with 19 women users of psychoactive substances through the application of a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Results The results revealed dissonance between the health cared received and the one expected. The latter is in line with a dialogical and integral perspective, as planned by the SUS. Women’s reports show the presence of social stigma, which is a challenge to be faced. Conclusion The health care for pregnant women users of psychoactive substances needs to assume a dialogic, integral, and multifaceted perspective, and the fight against social stigma becomes urgent. Further studies in this area are suggested.