Fatphobia in maternity care

Let’s face it, we live in a culture that allows for fatphobia. Where mocking larger bodies is socially acceptable. A culture that glorifies a certain body type as the epitome of “health.” This has created a lot of issues in maternal health care, and healthcare as a whole. This also makes those living in larger bodies feel as if their size correlates to their health. This causes internalized fatphobia, thinking that all their ailments are due to their size. “Just lose weight,” they are often told. The weight stigma in the medical system often shames larger bodied folks into not receiving the care they really need.

Brooke discusses how fatphobia affects not only larger people, but all of us in some way or the other. A lot of people constantly live under the stress of gaining weight and often may resort to fad diets to fit in, causing adverse health outcomes. Because let’s be honest, most of those fad diets are not about health, but about being smaller. Brooke joins us to discuss how it is never okay to discuss and police someone’s body size. Especially not while they are pregnant or postpartum, being in an already vulnerable state.