This is an account of the experience of the students of the Specialization Course in Obstetrics Nursing of the Department of Nursing Care of the State University of Montes Claros (UNIMONTES), together with the Sofia Feldman Hospital in Belo Horizonte, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This study intends to get to know the meaning of the course for the students, using the discourse analysis technique. The data which was analyzed provide meanings such as technical and scientific growth, safety, career advancement and some dificulties of professional performance. It focuses on the importance of this specialization course in the life of the students, in so far as their learning contributes to personal and professional growth to transform social reality. We conclude that the qualification of the obstetrics nurses is a strategy to reclaim the competence of this professional, increasing their contribution to the quality of health care to women during pregnancy, puerperium and to the neonate. We recommend that more courses should be made available to train obstetric nurses and to contribute to the quality of care for women and children.