Eating Disorders and Pregnancy Essay

& Twaddle, S., 2007). Yes, all these things are dangerous to one’s health. The treatments for anorexia nervosa include short-term weight gain. The overall prognosis for patients with anorexia is dependant of wether treatment is received or not (Morris, J. & Twaddle, S., 2007). Some people with eating disorders wait until the very last moment to even attempt to get help because they don’t see that they have a problem.

With Anorexia Nervosa, there is a strong fear of weight gain and a preoccupation with body image. Those diagnosed may show a resistance in maintaining body weight or denial of their illness. Additionally, anorexics may deny their hunger, have eating rituals such as excessive chewing and arranging food on a plate, and seek privacy when they are eating. For women, they go through immediate body changes from abnormal to no menstruation periods and develop lanugo all over their bodies. Characteristics of an anorexic individual also consist of extreme exercise patterns, loosely worn clothing, and maintain very private lives. Socially, to avoid criticism or concern from others, they may distant themselves from friends and activities they once enjoyed. Instead, their primary concerns revolve around weight loss, calorie intake, and dieting. In regards to health, many will have an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure, some can develop osteoporosis, severe dehydration which can result in kidney failure, and overall feel weak (Robbins, 27-29). It has been reported that Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest death rates in any mental health condition in America (www.NationalEatingDisorders.org).

Eating disorders in the United States are becoming more and more prominent as the years go by. Up to 24 million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders (ANAD, 2015), according to a secondary source research by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), the oldest and the most prominent organization aimed at fighting various eating disorders in the United States. Prominently, eating disorders in adolescents continue to be a serious problem and may result in premature death or life-long medical and psychosocial morbidity (Vale, B., Brito, S., Paulos, L., & Moleiro, P., 2014). According to a peer-reviewed, primary source by eating disorder specialists, eating disorders are classified according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition , as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not otherwise specified (Vale, B., Brito, S., Paulos, L., & Moleiro, P., 2014). The two major eating disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are very common amongst adolescents, specifically young girls. While the symptoms of anorexia nervosa is more evident through the dramatic change in body weight, bulimia nervosa can be overlooked as many with the disease have a normal body weight (Mulheim, 2012).

The two most common eating disorders are bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Both disorders, primarily affect young women, therefore the majority of the research on eating disorders has been done with women subjects. The onset of bulimia is between adolescence and early adulthood while the onset of anorexia is between early and late adolescence. Not only is the onset different but the disorders are unique. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by loss of control over eating which leads to food binges. These episodes are interspersed with episodes of purging, such as vomiting or laxative abuse, to keep weight down. The goal of anorexia is also to keep weight down , but to a

An eating disorder is an illness that involves an unhealthy feeling about the food we eat. “Eating disorders affect 5-10 millions Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide” (www.eatingdisorderinfo.org 1). They also affect many people from women, men, children, from all ages and different races. People who have eating disorders usually see themselves as being fat when they really aren’t. This usually deals with women or teenage girls mostly. They watch television, movies, read articles in magazines, and see pictures of the celebrities whom they want to be like because they have the “ideal body” that everyone wants and craves for. The media makes us all think we need those types of bodies to be happy with ourselves, be more successful

Birth complications may lead to brain damage cause by hypoxia (lack of oxygen). This may impair the neurodevelopment of the child. Favaro et al 2006 offers research support for birth complications being implicated in anorexia. Following a group of children from birth to adulthood, it was found that immediately before or after any obstruction of the blood supply to the placenta increased the risk of developing eating difficulties & a low birth weight.

Eating disorders have numerous emotional, psychological, and physical consequences; despite this, many affected individuals refuse to admit that they have a problem. One of the more serious problems associated with eating disorders that may convince a young woman to seek treatment, is the negative effect disordered eating can have on fertility, pregnancy, and child rearing in general. In multiple studies anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders not otherwise specified, have been associated with infertility, low maternal weight gain, low birth weight in infants, increased neonatal morbidity, and problems in infant feeding (Stewart, 1992). Women who are afflicted with an eating disorder at

LBW and impaired growth of the fetus in individuals with eating disorders could be prompted by “weight-controlling behavior (such as strict dieting, vomiting, and excessive physical exercise that leads to undernourishment) and compromised flow of essential nutrients in the maternal blood to the fetus” (Sollid et.al.,2004). Malnutrition may also have a strenuous effect on the immune system, impairing its function leading to higher risks of maternal infectious of diseases that also further initiate preterm delivery (Sollid et.al.,2004). In addition to the perils of malnutrition and behavioral elements, the excessive consumption and use of laxatives, diuretics, and appetite suppressants in some women with eating disorders may have a teratogenic effect (Sollid et.al., 2004). In essence, the amalgamation of undernourishment, “weight controlling behavior, and low pre-pregnancy BMI in women with eating disorders can severely interfere with neonatal health and pregnancy outcomes.

Lauren Green (2013) explains that anorexia is an obsessive-compulsive psychiatric disorder and physiologic syndrome, commonly known as an eating disorder. In the United States, this disorder affects between one to three percent of women. These women have a fear of gaining weight and they believe they are obese. Women who suffer from anorexia nervosa usually do not have a menstrual cycle every month, although this does not mean ovulation has ceased. Being able to notice the disease is the initial priority towards adequate prenatal care and education (Green, 2013). When these women do want to become pregnant, they need to start by taking the proper vitamins and try and have a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 19. Patients with a history of anorexia are more likely to take laxatives during

Several databases and journal articles have been included in this literature search. Credits for the access to these databases are for the Medical Library of the National Guard Health Services. This Paper emphasize its contents about the prevalence of Anorexia Nervosa among females in general worldwide. So these are the the four terms used in the search: Anorexia Nervosa, prevalence, young adult females, eating disorders. This brief literature search gives the information summary of these databases and journal articles.

Today in society it is founded that Anorexia Nervosa is of most common disorders that affect multiples of women and men across the country. The DSM-V at 307.1 (F50.01) (F50.02) finds Anorexia Nervosa to be a persistent restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low body weight, as related to minimally expected for age, sex, developmental trajectory, and physical health. The DSM-V also finds the criteria of Anorexia Nervosa to be an intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain, the disturbance in the way one’s body weight or shape is experienced, the undue influence of body shape and weight of self-evaluation, or persistent lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current

This paper was designed to discuss several basic topics regarding anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is and eating disorder with an incredibly high mortality rate characterized by low body weight and an obsessive fear of becoming overweight that occurs primarily in females after puberty, yet before the age of 40 years. Unfortunately, Not much is known about the causes of anorexia nervosa, but possible correlations are blood relation to a person suffering from anorexia nervosa, those who have recently experienced a stressful event, a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder in childhood, or participation in a culture or profession that values thinness.

Conducted on Jul 10, 2016, XYZ executed a study on whether or not childhood psychopathology is affected in children of women with eating disorders. Two different age groups were examined; 48,403 children at the age of eighteen months old and 46,156 children at the age of seven years old. If a mother had multiple children, only the first born child was studied. The younger group was measured in cognitive, motor and language development, temperament, and attachment. The older group was given the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to determine where they were psychologically. The mothers had one of the following; anorexia nervosa(AN), bulimia nervosa(BN), both anorexia and bulimia, or no eating disorder(NED). The study concluded that

Female adolescents can develop eating disorders because of the way the media portrays models. Adolescent girls’ attitude of the thin ideal leads to body dissatisfaction, which in return puts them at risk for serious eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia nervosa. Bulimia is an emotional disorder involving distortion of body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight, in which bouts of extreme overeating are followed by depression and self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting. Anorexia nervosa is an emotional disorder characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat. Kara L. Kerr who is currently studying psychology, sociology, and women’s and gender studies at the University of Tulsa claims that “Approximately 40 percent of anorexia nervosa cases occur in females ages fifteen to nineteen” (1). Females’ that are the ages of fifteen to nineteen should not be worrying about the presentation of their

attractive and the media reinforces this statement." Young adolescent girls buy into this sensation and through doing so, set themselves up for failure. When these predisposing factors are combined with stressors and pressures, the cycle is begun and an eating disorder is formed.