Thursday, March 15, 2012

Survey on Your Experiences with Maternity Providers

A brief interlude between other posts to present this research request that was forwarded to me.  Due to its time-sensitive nature I'm interrupting my normal posting schedule and putting it up now.

It's a survey about plus-sized women's experiences with maternity care providers.  I looked at the survey briefly and it seems legit, but be aware that I haven't taken the entire survey yet, so insert caveats.

I think it's really important to document our stories of mistreatment and I welcome more research into the effects of weight stigma in maternity care. Therefore, I'd encourage you to share your stories.

The survey is supposed to take about 15 minutes, so if you have a few minutes, please consider going over and taking the survey.

"Are you a plus-sized woman who is pregnant or has recently had a baby? Have you ever experienced disrespectful or insensitive care from your maternity care provider because of your weight? If so, please consider sharing your experience with us. Please follow this link to a brief online survey:  
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/plussizepregnancy.

Thank you!" 
This research is being conducted with IRB approval from SUNY Potsdam. 


5 comments:

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Leah Spencer said...

Well, I filled out the form... but I didn't realize that the questions were going to be biased towards office experiences. Both of my pregnancies were under the care of CPMs in home settings. Chairs, gowns, exam tables, etc don't apply. Also, no "office staff", as I work directly with the midwife herself.

Amos said...

Just completed the survey about maternity care providers for overweight clients. Happy to put my input into a "heavy" topic. It's so sad that we run into very judgmental doctors. The way I see it is this, we are heavy, and pregnant. The deed is already done, so be supportive and help us where we need it. Give us knowlegde to help teach us instead of preach to us.

I enjoy your blog BTW. I wish I would have stumbled upon it while I was pregnant with either of my two children. It has boosted my confidence as on overweight mom, and if I were to ever become pregnant again. Thank you for all the wonderful input and keep up the good work!

Janie said...

I wish it gave me the chance to break down different pregnancies - I worked with ob-gyns and midwives.

Unknown said...

I am glad that along with people's bad experiences I can share that my OB has been WONDERFUL. He actually told me (at 307lbs and having gained about 15lbs by week 30 of pregnancy) that my weight was "looking good." If I ever mention my weight making things more difficult he dismisses the idea and tells me that women of all weights have difficulty at times. Most of the office staff are on the heavier side too so I don't feel like the odd one out at all. I really wish more people could have such a wonderful experience; he's really helped me feel less anxious about my weight.