Jessica van den Heuvel, Katharine Wallis, Lauren Kearney, Leonie Callaway
Participants had experienced weight stigma both personally and professionally. Participants reported using reflective practice to reduce their weight-based biases. Recommendations for organisational improvement included revising guidelines, communication skills training, and funding for rural services.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Weight stigma contributes to health inequity for pregnant women living in larger bodies. General practitioners (GPs) are an important gateway into maternity care. Our aim was to explore GP views on weight stigma in maternity care to inform recommendations for non- stigmatising care.
METHOD: Participants were Australian GPs providing maternity care who ranked highly on fat-acceptance survey scores. Twenty semi-structured interviews in 2024 explored GP backgrounds, beliefs and behaviours when treating larger‑bodied women. Interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Participants had experienced weight stigma both personally and professionally. Participants reported using reflective practice to reduce their weight-based biases. Recommendations for organisational improvement included revising guidelines, communication skills training, and funding for rural services.
DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that reflective practice could be encouraged to decrease weight stigma in maternity care.Recommendations could provide a blueprint for policymakers, educators and practitioners who wish to reduce weight stigma in maternity care.