Attitudes And Care Experiences of Nurses and Midwives Towards Obese Pregnant Women: A Qualitative Study

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine and explain the attitudes and care experiences of nurses/midwives towards obese pregnant women in detail. Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative study that uses a phenomenological approach. The study included 30 nurses and midwives who were involved in the care of obese pregnant women. The research data were collected with the descriptive data form and semi-structured questionnaire by the researchers through face-to-face interviews. The data were analyzed using the theoretical thematic analysis technique. Results: Four main themes emerged from the data as experience, reaction, prejudice, and stigmatization. According to the results of the study, most of the midwives/nurses stated that they had negative care experiences with obese pregnant women. Many nurses and midwives stated that obese pregnant women have a high risk of complications, have difficulty in their care, and increase the workload. In addition, participants described obese pregnant women with expressions such as sick individual, immobile, gets tired quickly, and cannot breastfeed. Conclusion: In general, according to these results, it was determined that nurses/midwives mostly had negative care experiences towards obese pregnant women, were prejudiced against obese pregnant women and stigmatized them.