ORIGINAL ARTICLE BIRTH AND CHILDBIRTH ON THE FRENCH-BRAZILIAN BORDER: NURSES’ PERCEPTIONS ABSTRACT Objective: to understand nurses’ perceptions of childbirth and hospital birth assistance on the Franco-Brazilian border. Method: a qualitative study, carried out with eight nurses who worked in hospital care, in a municipality located on the French-Brazilian border, between the months of October and November 2018. We used the semi-structured interview technique, recorded and transcribed, analyzed based on themes founded in the Theory of Care. Results: two categories emerged: Knowing and being with the client, in which the reception and guidance were emphasized; Limitations to maintaining beliefs, doing for and making it possible, whose main limiting agents were the lack of specialization in obstetric nursing, precarious prenatal care, cultural diversity and teenage pregnancy. Conclusion: employees highlighted the need of knowing the context in which they operate to support the care plan. Defcient autonomy, due to the lack of training, as a complicating factor for quality obstetric care was evidenced. DESCRIPTORS: Obstetric Nursing; Border Health; Nursing Theory; Women’s Health; Border Areas. HOW TO REFERENCE THIS ARTICLE: Mendes LMC, Monteiro RS, Silva RA, Pinheiro AKB. Birth and childbirth on the French-Brazilian border: nurses’ perceptions. Cogitare enferm. [Internet]. 2020 [accessed “insert day, monh and year”]; 25. Available from: http:// dx.doi.org/10.5380/ce.v25i0.67820. 1 Nurse. Municipality of Macapá. Macapá, AP, Brazil. 2 Nurse. Doctorate student in Public Health. Nursing Professor at the Universidade Federal do Amapá. Oiapoque, AP, Brazil. 3 Nurse. Doctorate student in Public Health. Nursing Professor at the Universidade Federal do Amapá. Oiapoque, AP, Brazil. 4 Nurse. Doctor of Nursing. Nursing Professor at the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. São Mateus, ES, Brazil. 5 Nurse. Doctor of Nursing. Nursing Professor at the Universidade Federal do Ceará. Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. dx.doi.org/10.5380/ce.v25i0.67820 Cogitare enferm. 25: e67820, 2020 Angelina Carmo Silva 1 , Lise Maria Carvalho Mendes 2 , Renata Simões Monteiro 3 , Renan Alves Silva 4 , Ana Karina Bezerra Pinheiro 5