Weighing in

The next School of Midwifery Research & Innovation Seminar will be presented by George Parker.

WHEN: 1pm, Monday 17 June 2019
WHERE: click here to join online

George's topic is Weighing in: Midwives' views on body weight, health and the fat maternal body.

“In this presentation I will describe research I have in-progress which is analysing in-depth semi-structured one-one interviews and small focus groups with 24 New Zealand midwives (both core and LMC) on their views and experiences of working with women with a high BMI.  This critical qualitative research aims to identify how midwives understand and approach weight management and the politics of the fat pregnant body, navigate their own embodiment in their practice, and how they see their role in relation to maternal health promotion more generally. In this presentation I will explore the need for this research and overview some preliminary findings demonstrating the importance of midwifery ontology and epistemology in shaping the care and management of maternal obesity.”

Bio: George Parker is a lecturer in the postgraduate team in the School of Midwifery at Otago Polytechnic and also lectures in Medical Humanities at the University of Auckland.  George is a registered midwife and is completing a doctorate in Health Sociology at the University of Auckland.  George is passionate about compassionate, equitable and just approaches to maternal health care and the unique contribution midwives can make in the movement for reproductive and health justice.