A fundamental shift in the delivery of maternity care to ensure it is free from weight stigma is the ambitious goal of Dr Briony Hill’s latest grant.

Dr Hill, co-founder of the Body Positive Birth Alliance, was awarded a five-year NHMRC Investigator Grant, due to begin in 2026, to investigate and implement methods that address weight stigma from maternity care at multiple levels – from influencing care guidelines and policies to overhauling clinician interactions at routine antenatal and postnatal appointments. 

“We know weight stigma impacts 3.3 million Australian reproductive-age women annually, and these women report they encounter up to three stigmatising events daily,” Dr Hill said.

“My previous research has shown that maternity care professionals do aim to provide the highest quality care and understand weight stigma harms, yet, whether unintentional or explicit, negative interactions for women in larger bodies continue.”

An international leader in weight stigma in the preconception, pregnancy and postpartum periods (PPP), Dr Hill said she was “thrilled” to receive the five-year fellowship, which she has categorised under three pillars to provide “wrap-around optimisation of weight stigma-free maternity care”:

1. Conduct a world-first prospective cohort study to develop novel understanding of how experiences of weight stigma in maternity care impact pregnancy and birth outcomes
2. Develop a framework for guideline development to ensure future maternity care practice guidelines are not weight-stigmatising.
3. Conduct an implementation study to evaluate how co-designed ‘Best Practice Principles’ can support clinicians to provide weight stigma-free maternity care.

“The first pillar provides the evidence support; the second pillar will inform policy guidance and then the third will support clinician delivery,” Dr Hill said.

“My previous work has shown that weight stigma stems from policy, community, and social norms and can only truly be addressed with societal, comprehensive, and collaborative approaches such as those addressed by this grant.

“Weight stigma has a profound impact on women’s maternity care experiences, often making women feel judged or like a lesser citizen for just being who they are. I want to, and truly believe we can, change this narrative for women in future years, future generations, so that unbiased care is the norm.”

Dr Hill has led pioneering research on women’s wellbeing in Australia for almost a decade, with back-to-back fellowships since 2016. Dr Hill’s achievements to date include forging key national and international collaborations with researchers and lived experience experts in the field, and creating a talent and knowledge growth pipeline with five PhD students currently working under her supervision.

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