Women’s Suggestions for How To Reduce Weight Stigma in Prenatal Clinical Settings

To describe the experiences of weight stigma in prenatal clinical settings among high-risk pregnant women living with obesity and to obtain women’s perspectives regarding changes to prenatal health care practices that may reduce weight stigma. Qualitative descriptive study. High-risk obstetrics clinic. Weight stigma experienced in prenatal clinical settings can negatively influence maternal health and well-being as well as communication with health care providers. Nine pregnant women with obesity who were receiving specialized prenatal care in their third trimester. Women participated in semistructured telephone interviews. Data were inductively analyzed using a content analysis, whereby coded data were organized to represent experiences of or suggestions provided by pregnant women to reduce weight stigma in prenatal clinical settings. Experiences of weight stigma included poor communication, generalizations made about health and lifestyle behaviors, and focusing only on excess body weight during clinical appointments as the cause of negative health outcomes. To reduce weight stigma, women suggested that health care providers practice sensitive communication, offer individualized care for weight management, and reduce the focus on body weight by also independently addressing comorbidities or other health indicators. Women interviewed for this study provided suggestions that can be implemented in prenatal clinical settings to reduce weight stigma and improve the delivery of equitable health care. In this qualitative descriptive study, pregnant women living with obesity provided suggestions for how clinicians can take steps to reduce weight stigma.