In Brazil, the team assisting childbirth traditionally consists of doctors and nurses, however, physiotherapists can be part of the interprofessional team aiming for more humanized care. Physiotherapy assistance during labor can promote a better experience and satisfaction with delivery.

To describe the profile of women who received physiotherapy assistance during childbirth.

This is a cross-sectional observational study that included postpartum women aged = 18 years, up to 12 months postpartum, who experienced vaginal delivery in a hospital setting. The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee. Data were collected nationwide using an electronic form via Google Forms, containing questions about sociodemographic and health data. In this form, women were asked about access to physiotherapy care during labor by the question: "Which health professionals accompanied you during labor?" with the option to mark physiotherapist, doula, obstetric nurse and doctor. Data analysis was performed descriptively, representing continuous variables as mean and median, and categorical variables as absolute numbers and percentages.

320 postpartum women participated in the study, of which 111 (34.69%) received physiotherapy assistance during labor. The average age of women who had a physiotherapist during the birthing process was 32.9 (±4.25) years. Regarding the region of residence, 69 (62.2%) resided in the South and Southeast regions, while 40 (36.0%) in the North, Northeast, and Midwest regions. Regarding education level, 73 (65.8%) postpartum women reported having postgraduate education. Concerning self-declaration of race/color, 78 (70.3%) declared themselves white. Regarding marital status, 106 (95.5%) participants reported having a stable union. Finally, in relation to monthly family income, 48 (43.2%) indicated belonging to Class B, 29 (26.1%).

The women in this study, who had the presence of an intrapartum physiotherapist, were mostly from the South and Southeast regions, with a high level of education, white, in stable unions, and with high income. This shows an extremely restricted profile that does not reflect the reality of most women in Brazil, possibly indicating that a large portion of women do not have access to physiotherapy care in maternity hospitals. Implication: The characterization of women who had access to the services of a physiotherapist during intrapartum reinforces that access to this professional is still limited; women with higher education levels and high income have the opportunity to have more qualified assistance. It is known that the physiotherapeutic resources employed during the birthing process are related to the reduction of pain and anxiety, relaxation, reduction of labor time, in addition to the professional collaborating with continuous support providing a more positive birth experience. These findings highlight the need for the advancement of public policies that favor the presence of physiotherapists in maternity hospitals and in different socioeconomic contexts, in order to promote better birth experiences.