Abstract
to understand the meaning of care for women in the pregnancy-puerperium cycle from the perspective of health professionals in the light of complexity thinking. qualitative research anchored in the theoretical assumptions of complexity thinking: inseparability, complementarity and interconnectedness. Twenty-three professionals in the field of maternal and child health from the southern region of Brazil took part. The data was collected through individual interviews and analyzed using the thematic analysis technique. the three themes of analysis were the inseparability of care for pregnant women and puerperal women in the complexity of being a woman and a mother; the complementarity of care for women in the pregnancy-puerperal cycle; the interconnectedness of professional knowledge and practices. the meaning of care for women in the pregnancy-puerperium cycle, as understood by professionals, is associated with an integral understanding of the woman - pregnant woman, puerperal woman, mother, as an indivisible unit. BACKGROUND: (1) Pregnant and postpartum women are conceived in the indivisible complexity of being a woman and a mother (2) It suggests overcoming reductionist and simplifying approaches. (3) It signals interprofessional ruptures and advances. (4) It indicates multi-professional movements in maternal and child health. (5) It supports complexity thinking as a relevant and current reference.