The RADIANT Study

Ahlia, Bec, Briony, Lauren and Leonie, from the RADIANT team and founding members of the Body Positive Birth Alliance, will be delivering a webinar as part of theWomen's Healthcare Australasia Leading Thinkers series on 21 March at 12:30pm (AEDT). If you are keen to join the webinar please register here.

We will present a panel discussion focussing on weight stigma in maternity care.

Weight stigma is common in maternity care. It is linked with poor pregnancy outcomes, including high blood pressure, mental illness, birth problems, lower breastfeeding rates, poorer long-term maternal and child health, and intergenerational stigma. Approximately half of Australian women of reproductive age live in larger bodies, meaning over 3.3 million women are at risk of experiencing weight stigma during their preconception, pregnancy and postpartum life stages.

The Body Positive Alliance drives a program of consumer-led research which aims to develop maternity care that is free of stigma, shame and discrimination based on body size. Our multidisciplinary panel including consumer, researcher, midwifery and obstetric medical perspectives will discuss and reflect on the current weight-centric approach to maternity care, possible unintended impacts, and the need for paradigm shift.

• Larger bodied women’s perspectives on current approaches to maternity care
• The importance of partnership with consumers in the Body Positive Birth program of research.
• Socioecological perspectives and the evidence of the impact of weight stigma on women
• Midwifery perspectives on working with the tensions in our current guidelines for larger bodied women
• Obstetric medical reflections on evolving from BMI-focussed approaches to weight inclusive clinical practice