DISCUSSION
SCA is manifested during the phase of women’s lives when they are expected to be more productive, moreover, the fact that this is a disease of greatest prevalence in African descendants who live on the margins of society in many aspects of their lives, is an aggravating factor. People suffering from SCA are stigmatized, that is, they are considered, in most cases, unable to respond to socially valued moral prerogatives (1,8).
The participants in this study said they feared reporting the pregnancy to their families. This finding was also found in other studies involving pregnant women with SCA in southeastern Brazil (1). In the same study, the authors emphasized that the joy of being pregnant is mostly expressed by women in their first pregnancy and that their fears are experienced more by women who are in subsequent pregnancies. The ability for the women to cope with the disease and its complications is often due to the support received from the social environment, especially their families. This support modifies the effect of stressors, providing better conditions for women to deal with the adversities of the disease and thus provide them with better life quality.
Women’s psychological resources and family structure interact and may contribute to their adaptation to the disease. Family support and the skills of each family member are important sources of information and they influence the way a person deals with suffering (1).