S2, Ep8: Fatphobia in maternity care with Brooke Patmor

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 size correlates to health. This causes internalized fatphobia, thinking that all their ailments are due to their size. “Just lose weight,” they’re often told. The weight stigma in the medical system often shames larger bodied folks into not receiving the care they really need. In this episode we are joined by Brooke Patmor to discuss 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 aren't 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. So what is really going on? And is it really just that they need to lose weight? Does “optimal” weight really equate to health? If a pregnancy is labeled as high risk only because of the birther's BMI then is it really evidence-based? And where did the BMI even come from?Join this revealing episode with the amazing Brooke to learn more about fatphobia. We discuss the barriers faced by large bodies in the birthing world; what is really going on, how to be size inclusive in birth work and how we can support our larger bodied clients better. Website: https://www.borncollectivesf.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/borncollectivesf/ | https://www.instagram.com/thedykedoula/Show Notes:  https://www.amazon.com/Fearing-Black-Body-Racial-Origins