Body Positive Birth Alliance
About
The Body Positive Birth Alliance brings together a collective of consumers, clinicians, researchers, advocates and professional groups with the joint aim of challenging weight-centric maternity care, and directly addressing both unconscious and conscious weight stigma and discrimination.
Weight stigma is common in maternity care. It is linked with poor pregnancy outcomes, including high blood pressure, mental illness, birth problems, lower breastfeeding rates, poorer long-term maternal and child health, and intergenerational stigma. This form of discrimination is also known to undermine weight management in pregnant women, which may explain why it is associated with gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight retention.
Research shows that approximately half of Australian women of reproductive age live in larger bodies, and half also experience unintended weight gain and retention around childbearing. This puts over 3.3 million women at risk of experiencing weight stigma during their preconception, pregnancy and postpartum life stages.
This alliance will drive a program of consumer-led research which aims to develop maternity care that is free of stigma, shame and discrimination based on body size. Importantly, the project is built on a foundation of consumer engagement. By combining the lived experience of larger bodied women with the voices of leading experts we can challenge weight-centric care and work towards weight inclusive care.
The Alliance will work to address national policies, research priorities and gaps between research and practice, in order to improve experiences of maternity care and health outcomes for larger bodied women and their children.
For more information please contact Professor Leonie Callaway at leonie.callaway@health.qld.gov.au
- Read our Policy Brief: Addressing weight stigma in maternity care
- Latest News: Transforming maternity care - A mission to end weight stigma
- Read and download our two-page Policy and Practice Pack: A Woman-Centred Approach to Weight Stigma
- For more information on our grants and projects, please see the team profile links below
Consumer Quotes
“When you’re pregnant and giving birth, it’s one of the most vulnerable times in your life. Women with larger bodies are even more vulnerable, dealing with the stigma that goes along with that.”
(Renee)
Resources
Women's Voices: The impact of weight stigma in maternity care
Body Positive Birth Podcast:
Respectful maternity care for larger bodied women
Interested in developing and implementing tailored resources to address weight stigma in your health service?
Please email briony.hill@monash.edu
RADIANT Study: Stay tuned for the launch of the RADIANT Best Practice Principles! All enquiries to radiantstudy@uq.edu.au
EMBODY Study: Recruitment will begin soon. Visit the EMBODY webpage or email embody.study@monash.edu
Photovoice Pilot Study: Our procedural guide is based on lessons and learnings from conducting and evaluating an online photovoice pilot study, that investigated women's experiences of weight stigma in maternity care
Alliance Executive Team
Professor Leonie Callaway
Obstetric Physician and researcher; Chair, CRE HiPP Advisory Board; Executive Director, Metro North Hospital and Health Service District; Director of Research, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital; Co-Chair, Queensland Maternal and Perinatal Quality Council (QMPQC); Academic Title Holder - Professor, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland
Dr Briony Hill
Researcher in health psychology and public health; ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher (DECRA); CRE HiPP Research Fellow; Deputy Head, Health and Social Care Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University; Chair, Health in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum Early and Mid-career Researcher Collective
Associate Professor Lauren Kearney
Registered Midwife, Nurse and researcher; Inaugural Conjoint Associate Professor in Midwifery, Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital and Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of Queensland; Discipline lead: Midwifery, University of Queensland; Expert Advisory Committee member, Queensland Clinical Guidelines; Associate Editor for Women and Birth
Dr Bec Jenkinson
Maternity consumer advocate and researcher; Research Fellow, School of Public Health, University of Queensland
Professor Helen Skouteris
Alliance Mentor
Director of CRE HiPP; Monash Warwick Professor in Health and Social Care Improvement and Implementation Science; Head of Health and Social Care Unit, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University; Editor-in-Chief for Health & Social Care in the Community
Alliance Members
Sara Kingsley (consumer)
Malyssa Tomkinson (consumer)
Jessica Chippendale (consumer)
Ahlia Griffith (consumer)
Zena Mason (consumer)
Renee Tome (consumer)
Christie Bennett (researcher)
Taniya Nagpal (researcher)
Helia Khalesi (research assistant)
Rachael Nugent (Obstetrician and PhD student)
Anna Robins (PhD student)
Haimanot Hailu (PhD student)
Michelle Dever (PhD student)
Chloe Tran (PhD student)
Kym Blyth (PhD student)
Media
The maternity care that took Tara's BMI out of the equation
ABC Lifestyle, 24 June 2025 | Featuring: Research published by Briony Hill, Bec Jenkinson & Helen Skouteris
First-time mum left feeling 'devastated' after facing questions over her weight at hospital appointments
ABC News, 3 June 2025 | Featuring: Leonie Callaway, Briony Hill
'No compassion... just blame: how weight stigma in maternity care harms larger-bodied women and their babies
The Conversation, 30 April 2025 | Featuring: Briony Hill, Haimanot Hailu
Making maternity care equitable for larger-bodied women
Monash Lens, 30 April 2025 | Featuring: Briony Hill, Ahlia Griffiths
Weight stigma discussion
Afternoons with Kat Feeney, ABC Brisbane, 7 April 2025 (from 1hr 12 mins) | Featuring: Leonie Callaway
Ahlia says her GP ‘laughed in her face’ when she asked for a water birth – and that weight stigma in pregnancy has to stop,
The Guardian, 10 Nov 2024 | Featuring: Ahlia Griffiths, Haimanot Hailu and Briony Hill
Brisbane woman Zena Mason says she's been devalued, doubted during maternity care due to her weight
ABC News, 4 Sept 2023 | Featuring: Zena Mason and Bec Jenkinson
Body Positivity live interview
Channel 7, 24 Nov 2023 | Featuring: Briony Hill
Body Positive Birth
ABC Australia Wide, 6 Sept 2023 (from 10m19s) | Featuring: Bec Jenkinson and Zena Mason
A micro boost for body positivity maternity care
Health Translation Queensland, 24 August 2023 | Featuring: Bec Jenkinson
Reducing weight stigma in maternity care
Metro North Health, 2 June 2023 | Featuring: Bec Jenkinson, Lauren Kearney and Leonie Callaway
I was fat-shamed by doctors when I was pregnant': Aussie mum's shock over treatment at hospital
Nine Honey, June 2023 | Featuring: Bec Jenkinson
ABC Babytalk: Weight Stigma & Pregnancy
ABC Babytalk, 6 Feb 2021 | Featuring: Briony Hill
Featured Research Outputs, Publications and Presentations
Peer reviewed publications
Hill B, Hailu H, Kandel P, Kearney L, Jenkinson B, Maepioh A, Nugent R, Callaway L, Griffiths A, Siale T, Tome R, Skouteris H. (2025) Weight-inclusive maternity care: An approach to reduce weight stigma and improve pregnancy and birth outcomes, Midwifery, 152, 104648
Kearney L, Jenkinson B, Robins A, Callaway L, van den Heuval J, Roussin M, Hill B. (2025) Maternity care providers’ attitudes and beliefs toward weight and body size during pregnancy: A cross-sectional survey. Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, 46, 101145.
Hill B, Hailu H, Jenkinson B, Rakic S, Nagpal TS, Boyle JA, Sheehan P, Darlison S, Skouteris H. (2025) Co-design and clinician evaluation of resources to address weight stigma in antenatal care. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 25: 263.
Robins A, Jenkinson B, Kearney L (2025). Navigating Weight Stigma: An integrative review of midwives' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about caring for larger-bodied women. Midwifery. Available online 7 May 2025, 104444.
Griffiths A, Kingsley S, Mason Z, Tome R, Tomkinson M, Jenkinson B. (2023) Listening to larger bodied women: Time for a new approach to maternity care. Women and Birth, 36(5), 397-400.
Outputs
Procedural Guide: Conducting online photovoice research (2025)
Policy Brief: Addressing weight stigma in maternity care (2025)
Report for Lived Experience Experts: Co-design and clinician evaluation of resources to address weight stigma in antenatal care
Hill B, Khalesi H, Kingsland M, Hollis J. (2024) Striking the balance: Providing recommended care for nutrition, physical activity, and weight gain in pregnancy without weight stigma. Australian Midwifery News, 36(1), 18-20.
Invited Presentations
Addressing weight stigma in antenatal care – Solutions from women and midwives. Eastern Health maternity educational session, Melbourne, Australia, 28 March 2025 – Briony Hill
Perinatal weight stigma: voices from women, healthcare and policy. Australasian Society of Behavioural Health and Medicine, Gold Coast, Australia, 7 Feb 2025 - Tina Siale (lived experience expert), Michelle Dever, Lauren Kearney, Bec Jenkinson and Briony Hill
How can we reduce weight stigma in healthcare professionals? International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders World Congress, Melbourne, Australia, 3-6 Sept 2024 – Briony Hill along with John Dixon, Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia and Elizabeth Holmes-Truscott
Weight stigma in preconception and fertility care. International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders World Congress, Melbourne, Australia, 3-6 Sept 2024 – Briony Hill
Weight stigma and women of reproductive age: Community, policy and practice perspectives. The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre Emerging Leaders Network Webinar, 9 Oct 2024 – Ahlia Griffiths and Briony Hill
Nutrition, physical activity and weight stigma in preconception women. European Conference on Preconception Health and Care, Leuven, Belgium, 20 Sept 2024 – Briony Hill
Weight stigma in pregnancy: What do we need to do about it? Mercy Perinatal Twilight Seminar Series, 19 June 2024 – Leonie Callaway
Are we getting maternity care right for larger bodied women? Women’s Health Australasia Leading Thinkers Series, Zoom, 31 March 2024 – Ahlia Griffiths, Bec Jenkinson, Briony Hill, Lauren Kearney and Leonie Callaway
Striking the balance: Providing recommended care for nutrition, physical activity, and weight gain in pregnancy without weight stigma. Australian College of Midwives Focus On….Population Health, Zoom, 13 March 2024 – Briony Hill along with Jenna Hollis
Weight stigma and policy. School of Medicine and Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, 28 September 2023 – Briony Hill
Weight stigma in pregnancy: What do we need to do about it? Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Annual Scientific Meeting, Rotorua, New Zealand, 22 June 2023 – Leonie Callaway
Preconception Care for Women with Diabetes - The Art and Science of Medicine (including a discussion about weight stigma prior to conception). Westmead Hospital Research Week, Sydney, 16 August 2023 – Leonie Callaway
Preconception Care - The Art and Science of Medicine (including a discussion about weight stigma prior to conception). Internal Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting, Sydney, 9 September 2022 – Leonie Callaway