Having a strong support system in place is vital to eating-disordered
[anorexic, bulimic] women when they are facing pregnancy and birth.
According to Margo Maine, Ph.D., Director of Eating Disorders at the
Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, "For those people who have
struggled with eating disorders and come to some level of recovery, the
pregnancy can sometimes bring issues back to the surface that [the patient]
felt were under control. The pregnancy can bring up a lot of issues about
eating and a distrust of the urges and strong appetites that a pregnant
person often has. A woman may be very fearful of her body's messages to
her."
In addition, the fact that a pregnant woman's shape and size alter in such
dramatic and uncontrollable ways is often a difficult psychological hurdle.
Randi Wirth, Ph.D., executive director of the American Anorexia and Bulimia
Association, states that "pregnancy brings up issues for every woman about
her body, and anyone who has a vulnerability to body-image distortion will
find that resurfacing....In particular, they fear their weight gain will be
permanent. They fear losing control."
The postpartum period is a vulnerable time. The inevitable sleep loss, new
demands, and dramatic life changes are enormously destabilizing, and the
fact that hormones are dropping at a precipitous rate may make maintenance
of psychological health even more challenging. Women and their healthcare
providers need to be alert for the possibility of postpartum depression.
Those women who enter this phase of their lives with adequate preparation
are apt to have a good experience. What this means is they need to have
their issues under control, be of normal weight, be psychically integrated,
and have an adequate support system. Likewise, it is a good idea for these
women to reengage with their therapists, at least for a session or two, to
deal with any concerns that may arise.
-Julianne R. Ambroz, from "Eating Disorders in Pregnancy," Midwifery Today
Issue 40
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 2 Issue 17 April 28, 2000)
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