Bodies out of control: Relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancy
BackgroundBeing pregnant is a vulnerable period for women with a history of eating disorders. A central issue in eating disorders is searching control of one’s body and food preferences. Pregnancy implies being increasingly out of control of this. Treatment and targeted prevention start with the pat...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.986217/full |
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| author | Bente Sommerfeldt Bente Sommerfeldt Finn Skårderud Finn Skårderud Finn Skårderud Ingela Lundin Kvalem Kjersti S. Gulliksen Kjersti S. Gulliksen Arne Holte Arne Holte |
| author_facet | Bente Sommerfeldt Bente Sommerfeldt Finn Skårderud Finn Skårderud Finn Skårderud Ingela Lundin Kvalem Kjersti S. Gulliksen Kjersti S. Gulliksen Arne Holte Arne Holte |
| author_sort | Bente Sommerfeldt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundBeing pregnant is a vulnerable period for women with a history of eating disorders. A central issue in eating disorders is searching control of one’s body and food preferences. Pregnancy implies being increasingly out of control of this. Treatment and targeted prevention start with the patient’s experience. Little is known about how women with a history of eating disorder experience being pregnant.MethodWe interviewed 24 women with a history of eating disorder at the time of pregnancy, recruited from five public pregnancy controls at local family health centers in Norway. Interviews were analyzed by means of ideal type analysis, with a particular focus on how the participants experienced pregnancy and perceived triggers in possible experiences of relapse or worsening during pregnancy. All participants completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and were diagnosed (DSM-5) by using the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE).ResultsOn becoming pregnant, 23 of the 24 participants experienced worsening or relapse of their disorder. This occurred both at first time and after several pregnancies, and either interviewed early or late in pregnancy. Ideal type analyses indicated seven different personal features associated with worsening or relapse: the “chaotic” “rigid” “perfect” “worried” “shameful” “motherhood fearing” and “the mother with lost identity” Perceived triggers of worsening or relapse were: “loss of control” “unpredictability” “competition” “change of appearance” “shame and nausea” and “loss of identity.”ConclusionPregnancy is a vulnerable period for women with a history of eating disorders. A great variation in personal psychological dynamics seems to interact with perceived triggers in worsening or relapse of eating disorder. Our findings have important implications in understanding mechanisms of relapse in pregnancy, preventing relapse and help tailoring adequate intervention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-32af39241fcd4ddf93ed805f6edfecee |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-32af39241fcd4ddf93ed805f6edfecee2025-08-20T01:52:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-09-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.986217986217Bodies out of control: Relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancyBente Sommerfeldt0Bente Sommerfeldt1Finn Skårderud2Finn Skårderud3Finn Skårderud4Ingela Lundin Kvalem5Kjersti S. Gulliksen6Kjersti S. Gulliksen7Arne Holte8Arne Holte9Institute of Eating Disorders, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayInstitute of Eating Disorders, Oslo, NorwayFaculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DenmarkFaculty of Health and Sports Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayInstitute of Eating Disorders, Oslo, NorwayThe Norwegian Psychological Association, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayNorwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Oslo, NorwayBackgroundBeing pregnant is a vulnerable period for women with a history of eating disorders. A central issue in eating disorders is searching control of one’s body and food preferences. Pregnancy implies being increasingly out of control of this. Treatment and targeted prevention start with the patient’s experience. Little is known about how women with a history of eating disorder experience being pregnant.MethodWe interviewed 24 women with a history of eating disorder at the time of pregnancy, recruited from five public pregnancy controls at local family health centers in Norway. Interviews were analyzed by means of ideal type analysis, with a particular focus on how the participants experienced pregnancy and perceived triggers in possible experiences of relapse or worsening during pregnancy. All participants completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and were diagnosed (DSM-5) by using the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE).ResultsOn becoming pregnant, 23 of the 24 participants experienced worsening or relapse of their disorder. This occurred both at first time and after several pregnancies, and either interviewed early or late in pregnancy. Ideal type analyses indicated seven different personal features associated with worsening or relapse: the “chaotic” “rigid” “perfect” “worried” “shameful” “motherhood fearing” and “the mother with lost identity” Perceived triggers of worsening or relapse were: “loss of control” “unpredictability” “competition” “change of appearance” “shame and nausea” and “loss of identity.”ConclusionPregnancy is a vulnerable period for women with a history of eating disorders. A great variation in personal psychological dynamics seems to interact with perceived triggers in worsening or relapse of eating disorder. Our findings have important implications in understanding mechanisms of relapse in pregnancy, preventing relapse and help tailoring adequate intervention.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.986217/fulleating disordersanorexia nervosabulimia nervosapregnancyrelapsetriggers |
| spellingShingle | Bente Sommerfeldt Bente Sommerfeldt Finn Skårderud Finn Skårderud Finn Skårderud Ingela Lundin Kvalem Kjersti S. Gulliksen Kjersti S. Gulliksen Arne Holte Arne Holte Bodies out of control: Relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancy Frontiers in Psychology eating disorders anorexia nervosa bulimia nervosa pregnancy relapse triggers |
| title | Bodies out of control: Relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancy |
| title_full | Bodies out of control: Relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancy |
| title_fullStr | Bodies out of control: Relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bodies out of control: Relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancy |
| title_short | Bodies out of control: Relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancy |
| title_sort | bodies out of control relapse and worsening of eating disorders in pregnancy |
| topic | eating disorders anorexia nervosa bulimia nervosa pregnancy relapse triggers |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.986217/full |
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