Fork of Weight Stigma in Student Midwives

Weight stigma refers to discriminatory acts and ideologies targeted towards individuals because of their weight and size (World Obesity, 2022). Existing literature regarding weight stigma in trainee healthcare professionals tends to focus primarily on student dieticians, doctors, nurses and nutritionists (Swift et al., 2013a). Despite extensive research into these trainee healthcare professionals, there is a distinct lack of weight stigma research in midwifery settings. However, it is important to know whether weight stigma is present in midwifery settings (e.g. in student midwives), because regular midwife check-ups throughout pregnancy for women with obesity, and effective midwife-patient communication, is essential for the prevention of obesity-related health complications during pregnancy (UCR, 2018). It is important to address this gap in the literature because if weight stigma does exist in midwifery settings, interventions need to be implemented to reduce this weight stigma (e.g. during midwifery training); in order to reduce negative consequences on midwifery care for pregnant women with obesity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether weight stigma is present in student midwives. Specifically, the study aims to compare student midwives’ attitudes, estimated time spent with the patient, and type of care provided towards patients with either a healthy weight (without overweight or obesity), overweight, or obesity.