STUDY: Research has found the body weight of mums-to-be relates to their treatment by maternity care providers. Picture: Alex Coppel Source: Herald Sun
MUMS-to-be considered overweight are treated worse by maternity care providers because of their body weight, a study has found.
Research conducted by the University of Queensland’s Queensland Centre for Mothers and Babies (QCMB) investigated "weight stigma’’ from the perspectives of women receiving care and those who provide it.
It was found obese or overweight women had a fat chance of receiving the same level of treatment as those with a slimmer figure.
QCMB's Dr Yvette Miller said the study, which used state-wide data from a biannual survey of thousands of Queensland mums, as well as a survey of health professionals, found women who had a higher Body Mass Index in pregnancy reported instances of negative treatment from maternity care providers.
“These women were more likely to report negative care experiences during their pregnancy and after their birth, such as not being treated with respect, kindness and understanding, care providers not being open and honest, and not genuinely caring for their well-being,” she said.
“Professionals with training in both the medical and midwifery fields across Australia responded differently to fictional case presentations of a pregnant patient, depending on whether they had a normal-weight, overweight or obese BMI, although nothing else about the patient was different.
“Professionals held less positive attitudes towards caring for overweight or obese pregnant women, compared to normal weight pregnant women. Attitudes such as being annoyed by the patient, feeling as though seeing the patient was a waste of their time, and having less patience or a personal desire to help and support them.
“They also perceived overweight and obese pregnant women as less likely to be healthy, to take care of themselves and to be self-disciplined, even though all other health indicators for the fictional patients were exactly the same.”
Dr Miller said these results provided strong preliminary evidence that weight stigma was present in maternity care settings in Queensland, especially given the researchers investigated both women's and future care providers' perspectives.
“We need to develop strategies to recognise and combat weight stigma when we are training our maternity care professionals,” she said.
“People who are subjected to these kind of discriminatory behaviours and attitudes are more likely to delay medical appointments and preventive healthcare procedures, to binge eat and avoid exercise, and to have poorer psychological health."
The research, titled Weight stigma in maternity care: women's experiences and care providers' attitudes, has been published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.
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