Background: 150,000 Australian women are vulnerable to weight stigma during pregnancy annually. It leads to poorer mental and behavioural health, decreased access to and uptake of reproductive healthcare, and poorer perinatal health outcomes. Addressing weight stigma is a guiding principle in the 2022-32 National Obesity Strategy, however there is limited evidence articulating strategies to reduce weight stigma perpetuated by healthcare professionals, and no studies incorporating co-design. Therefore, we aimed to co-design resources to address weight stigma in antenatal care.
Methods: We invited midwives and obstetricians from a large public healthcare service in Melbourne and consumers with lived experience of pregnancy weight stigma to participate in three 1-hour Zoom co-design workshops. Workshops included presentation of an evidence-based menu of options and workshop activities to elicit content and delivery ideas (i.e., “blue sky thinking” resource design; “who-what-when-where-why-how”; and “new-useful-feasible” activities).
Results: Three midwives and six consumers participated; no obstetricians took part. Participants identified three themes to inform resources: (1) representation of women with larger bodies in antenatal health services; (2) reducing high-risk assumptions linked to larger body size, namely absolute versus relative risk; and (3) clinician education and empathy. Ideas to resource these themes were brainstormed and evaluated as useful and feasible by both midwives and consumers; supported ideas included: (1) producing resources displaying happy, healthy, larger-bodied pregnant women; (2) creating short, interactive activities for clinicians; and (3) developing resources that can be used during consultations (e.g., signposts for sensitive conversations). Participants also wanted to effect policy change; but this was beyond the scope of the current project.
Conclusion: Midwives and consumers generated feasible and practical ideas to inform resources to reduce weight stigma in antenatal care. Future directions include implementing these co-developed ideas, which will contribute to supporting respectful maternity care for women with larger bodies.