Weight stigma and prenatal physical activity: Exploring the perspectives of pregnant women living with obesity

To identify sources of weight stigma in physical activity (PA)-related milieus reported by pregnant women living with obesity. We also report person-informed strategies to improve the delivery of PA promotions and prescriptions to prevent weight stigma and improve maternal PA. This is a qualitative...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Midwifery 2022-01, Vol.104, p.103186-103186, Article 103186
Main Authors: Nagpal, Taniya S., Liu, Rebecca H., Myre, Maxine, Gaudet, Laura, Cook, Jocelynn, da Silva, Danilo F., Adamo, Kristi B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Exercise
Female
Humans
Obesity
Physical Activity
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women
Prenatal Care
Stigma
Weight Prejudice
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Summary:To identify sources of weight stigma in physical activity (PA)-related milieus reported by pregnant women living with obesity. We also report person-informed strategies to improve the delivery of PA promotions and prescriptions to prevent weight stigma and improve maternal PA. This is a qualitative descriptive study and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Purposive sampling including pregnant women living with obesity, with a body mass index ≥35.0 kg/m2, ≥18 years of age, and receiving specialized prenatal care were recruited from an obstetrics clinic in Kingston, Canada. Data were assessed by a content analysis, whereby coded themes represented sources of weight stigma related to prenatal PA. Demographic characteristics (pre-pregnancy body mass index, age, gestational age) were summarized and presented as means and standard deviations. In-depth interview data were collected from eight women. Average pre-pregnancy BMI, age, and gestational age were 44.6±4.8 kg/m2, 32.0±4.1 years, 31.1±5.8 weeks, respectively. Two sources of weight stigma related to prenatal PA were identified: 1. Lack of visual representation – online images and images found in exercise promotional material do not include women who have obesity; 2. Lack of individualized recommendations – currently available prenatal PA guidelines and/or recommendations from healthcare providers do not always consider individual physical barriers or health goals women may have. By increasing body positive representation of pregnant women exercising and offering person-centered prenatal PA recommendations, maternal PA may improve including women living with obesity. Findings from this work can inform future PA interventions, health promotion programming, and prescriptions from prenatal care providers to implement person-oriented strategies to prevent weight stigma and improve the delivery of care for pregnant women living with obesity.
ISSN:0266-6138
1532-3099
DOI:10.1016/j.midw.2021.103186