MATERNIDADE NO ENSINO SUPERIOR: ANÁLISES E REFLEXÕES A PARTIR DE PESQUISA BIBLIOGRÁFICA.

Abstract

This Undergraduate Thesis analyzes the challenges faced by university students who are mothers, investigating how they balance motherhood with academic training and which factors hinder or support their persistence in higher education. This qualitative research, grounded in a bibliographic review, used the SciELO database as the main source for identifying academic publications on motherhood and university life between 2014 and 2024. The findings show that, although the literature on motherhood is extensive, most studies focus on the field of health, with a notable scarcity of research addressing undergraduate education from the perspective of student-mothers. The selected articles reveal challenges such as physical and emotional overload, financial difficulties, lack of institutional support, prejudice, and risk of dropout. The analysis also highlights the importance of social support, family networks, and institutional policies, such as university childcare centers, flexible schedules, and student financial aid, in promoting the academic persistence of these women. It is concluded that student-mothers demonstrate resilience and determination, but their trajectories remain conditioned by multiple inequalities, indicating the urgent need for inclusive educational policies sensitive to the demands of caregiving. Keywords: Motherhood. Higher Education. Educational Policies. Gender.