The Heavyweight Midwife Podcast: Empowerment for Plus Size Fertility, Pregnancy and Birth

alicekeely
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The podcast for plus size pregnancy empowerment! If you’re wondering ‘Can I/Should I get pregnant in a bigger body?’ ‘What are risks of being plus size in pregnancy?’ ‘Will doctors and midwives treat me differently?’ ‘Can I have a waterbirth if I’m plus size?’ ‘Will I get gestational diabetes?’ ‘Will need a c-section?’ or flip-side... ‘Can I request a caesarean birth?’ …. this is the podcast for you. Information, reassurance and myth-busting, with Dr Alice Keely, plus size specialist midwife and PhD with 20 years experience and a passion for the uniqueness of every single pregnancy journey. From planning and trying for a baby, to your positive pregnancy test day, through all of your pregnancy decisions, and of course birth planning, this is the place to be. I’ll help you to feel good, to learn, to get empowered and reassured on all things plus size fertility, preparing for pregnancy, trimesters one, two and three, and of course help you with birth preparation. Join Alice, her expert guests, and real-life plus size mamas telling their stories, always with positivity and empowerment in mind! Follow Alice on social media @theheavyweightmidwife and do get in touch if you have a question , be a guest expert or if you have a story you’d like to share.

  1. 08/20/2025

    Episode 24: Going Abroad For IVF with Emma Haslam

    On this week’s show, I’m talking to Emma Haslam about all things IVF abroad. Following her own journey with infertility which led to the birth of her son via IVF abroad Emma Haslam has become the go-to independent expert guide for fertility testing and treatment in Europe. Since 2019 Emma has helped 100s of people globally struggling to conceive to start and grow their families. Emma has been featured in the national and international media, interviewed and featured in a book and is an advocate, writer and podcaster for the infertility community. Emma was a headline speaker at The Fertility Show in London 2025, and Judge at the European Fertility Care awards in 2024 and 2025. Emma is on a mission to make fertility testing and treatment globally more transparent, affordable, accessible, safe and supported for more people and she wants to put you firmly back in the driver’s seat of your fertility journey and give you the best chance of reaching your desired destination; growing your family.LinksWant to learn more about going abroad for fertility treatment? Start with my free training that will tell you everything you need to know.yourivfabroad.co.uk/freemasterclassIVF abroad podcast with Emma:yourivfabroad.co.uk/podcastConnect with Emma on Instagram:www.instagram.com/yourivfabroad.co.uk

    44 min
  2. Episode 23: The Thing About Doctors…

    08/13/2025

    Episode 23: The Thing About Doctors…

    If you’re plus size and pregnant, it might mean you’re referred to see a doctor, a consultant obstetrician to be precise. But, if your referral is solely because of your BMI, what is it for? And will you actually see a consultant? What should you expect and how should you prepare? And… is it compulsory to be ‘consultant-led’ for plus size pregnancy?

    30 min

  3. 07/20/2025

    Episode 22: An Obstetrician Who Hates The 'High Risk' Label! Florence Wilcox from the Obspod

    Florence Wilcox is a UK consultant obstetrician and the host of the brilliantly informative ObsPod podcast. In this episode I put some commonly asked Heavyweight Midwife Community member questions to Florence and we have a brilliant chat about how women & doctors can best work together to improve pregnancy and birth experiences. Don't worry alone! If you need my help and expertise, visit theheavyweightmidwife.com

    45 min

  4. 06/05/2025

    21. ‘Our Experience Made Us Feel Heard’: Preparation and Advocacy With Eleanor and Dean

    Eleanor and Dean joined me (with baby Hazel) for this detailed and illuminating chat about how to work together and prepare well for advocating for your birth choices. In this episode, we discuss pregnancy loss as well as Eleanor’s mental health challenges - and we talked about how preparing and working together and with their health professionals led to them having an experience in hospital ‘made us feel heard’. The sound quality is not the greatest for this episode, but what you can learn about communicating with health professionals and promoting your own positive experiences definitely is!

    1h 32m

  5. 05/11/2025

    20. She said to me “Fat people don’t fit slings”: Plus size babywearing with Tully Slings

    (20+) The Heavyweight Midwife Group | Facebook When Samantha first had a baby, she went along to a local sling library and was told that ‘fat people don’t fit slings’. This ignited a fire and passion for her, one that has led to her baby wearing with all of her four children and now consulting and advocating for plus size people to find the right baby carrier for them and to enjoy this practical and uniquely special way to carry and bond with your baby! I absolutely loved chatting to Samantha about her work and I know you’ll enjoy it too if you’re a baby wearer or are currently pregnant and considering it - I’d thoroughly recommend it and Samantha is such an expert!

    35 min

  6. 04/27/2025

    19: ‘Having a Confident Voice is So Important for C Section Parents’ with C-Section UK’s Midwife Vic

    This week’s guest is Victoria Holyoak. Founder of C-SectionUK, speaker and advocate for c-section education, Midwife Vic has been practicing midwifery for over a decade both nationally and internationally. She sits across a number of advisory boards, as well as working with commercial platforms in an advisory capacity and as a writer.

    52 min

  7. 04/13/2025

    18. “They thought I didn’t believe I was that weight!” Being gaslit and pushing back

    Ruth was planning her fourth caesarean birth when we recorded this episode. Navigating her care has been challenging for her but she has done it brilliantly, pushing back against the ‘internalised fat-phobia’ she’s encountered along the way. A must-listen for anyone who wants tips on self-advocacy!

    48 min

  8. 03/10/2025

    17. Understanding Birth Trauma, with Dr Jenny Patterson

    Jenny Patterson is a midwife and lecturer whose research focuses on birth trauma.

    52 min
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About

The podcast for plus size pregnancy empowerment! If you’re wondering ‘Can I/Should I get pregnant in a bigger body?’ ‘What are risks of being plus size in pregnancy?’ ‘Will doctors and midwives treat me differently?’ ‘Can I have a waterbirth if I’m plus size?’ ‘Will I get gestational diabetes?’ ‘Will need a c-section?’ or flip-side... ‘Can I request a caesarean birth?’ …. this is the podcast for you. Information, reassurance and myth-busting, with Dr Alice Keely, plus size specialist midwife and PhD with 20 years experience and a passion for the uniqueness of every single pregnancy journey. From planning and trying for a baby, to your positive pregnancy test day, through all of your pregnancy decisions, and of course birth planning, this is the place to be. I’ll help you to feel good, to learn, to get empowered and reassured on all things plus size fertility, preparing for pregnancy, trimesters one, two and three, and of course help you with birth preparation. Join Alice, her expert guests, and real-life plus size mamas telling their stories, always with positivity and empowerment in mind! Follow Alice on social media @theheavyweightmidwife and do get in touch if you have a question , be a guest expert or if you have a story you’d like to share.

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