In this episode of Fat and Fertile, I’m joined by the brilliant Dr. Alice Keeley – aka The HeavyWeight Midwife. With 20+ years of midwifery experience and a PhD in plus-size pregnancy care, Alice is a powerful voice challenging the weight stigma baked into our maternity systems.

We dig into what it’s really like to be pregnant in a bigger body – from being weighed without consent, to “high risk” labels that show up before anything’s even gone wrong. Alice explains how these experiences affect care, and why personalised, evidence-based, compassionate support matters so much.

We also explore Alice’s journey, including what led her to launch The HeavyWeight Midwife in 2022, and why autonomy and clear communication are key during pregnancy.

We talk about:

• Why BMI-based guidelines miss the bigger picture
• How to advocate for yourself at appointments
• Risks, referrals, and informed consent
• Why water birth access is a fat-positive issue
• And how Alice’s trimester-by-trimester courses are changing lives

Links & Resources

• 📘 Fat and Fertile – Buy the book
• 📰 Join Nicola on Substack
• 📧 Email: [email protected]
• 📸 Instagram: @fatpositivefertility
• 🌐 Alice’s site: theheavyweightmidwife.com
• 📲 Alice on IG: @theheavyweightmidwife
• 🎧 Listen to The HeavyWeight Midwife Podcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.