This present thesis has the proposed intent to articulate some of the development of my professional work with women living in Pedra de Guaratiba, located in the western district of Rio de Janeiro, about the issue of motherhood in a scenario tainted by poverty and exclusion. Considering the fact that social and cultural contexts define different habits and customs, the question that arises is to give visibility to women from the categories for which they are socially constructed identities and women s experiences of maternity residents of the slums of Pedra de Guaratiba. We sought to investigate it from the women s self point of views, and their meanings about these experiences. To analyze the function of motherhood, it was necessary to discuss subjects related, such as migration, attempted abortion, domestic violence, alcohol / drugs, social vulnerability, conjugalities, contraceptives, family planning and the interference on new forms of relationships, recognition and social activities in their daily lives. It aims to reflect on the place of motherhood in these women s subjective process, trying a less homogeneous approach of the issue while seeking to observe how they place themselves in the projects of life, in order to, as a possibility in the future, serve as the basis for a more effective public policy management to the category under development.