Pregnancy and Eating Disorders

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Pregnancy and Eating Disorders

Concerns about gaining weight and retaining a youthful figure are expressed by many pregnant women. When there has been a history of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, weight gain and body shape changes accompanying pregnancy can provoke extreme distress (Rand et al., 1987). Very little is known about the impact of pregnancy on women with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Despite the fact that amenorrhea, the lack of menstruation, and infertility are common features of these syndromes, some women have been able to conceive, even at below normal body weight (Lemberg & Phillips, 1989). Information is lacking in general on psychological impact on the mother-to-be as well as on the course of pregnancy from a medical and nutritional point of view as it relates to both the mother and the unborn child.

STUDIES PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED

Blinder and Hagman (1984) interviewed six women with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa who had given birth while actively symptomatic. Most of the women reported developing better control over their symptoms during the pregnancy and were motivated by wanting to have healthy children and to be healthy themselves in order to be better caretakers. However, following the deliveries they regressed to dysfunctional eating patters, often with an increase in severity (Lemberg & Phillips, 1989).

Stewart, Raskin, Garfinkel, MacDonald, and Robinson (1987) compared the pregnancies of seven women, four of whom were anorexic and three bulimic at the time of pregnancy, with eight women whose symptoms were in remission. In contrast to the above studies, the authors reported that the women with an active eating disorder did not improve in their symptoms, but continued...

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... 8(3):285-295.

Mitchell, James E., et al. "A Retrospective Study of Pregnancy in Bulimia Nervosa." International Journal of Eating Disorders. 1991

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Ramchandani, Dilip and Barbara Whedon. "The Effect of Pregnancy on Bulimia."

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Turton, Penelope, et al. "Incidence and Demographic Correlates of Eating Disorder

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1999 Dec; Vol. 26(4): 448-452.

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