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ED and Pregnancy

Many people suffering from Ed are at a very special time of their lifes.
It's called their child bearing years! Celebrated by most, feared by a few
and regretted by very little!
However,for those sufferig from ED, this stage of their lifes may prove
quite difficult.
Eating Distress strongly hampers fertility. As menstruation and ovulation
is often effected as a result of reduced calorie intake,excessive excercise and/or psychological stress. All leading to horomonal imbalances.
If by chance ovulation and fertilization are successful, the uterus is often not conducive to implantation.
The behaviours associated with the condition will affect health as you will not be getting sufficent nutrient. This will impact on the pregnancy as the the baby solely depends on you to get his/her nutrients also.

Problems of pregnancy include:
Miscarriage (studies indicate as much as 50% increased risk)
Premature Labour (possible incompentent cervix)
Lowbirth weight (due to malnutrution, possible neurological risk to baby)
Low aminotic fluid (poor placental proformance due to lack of nutrition)
Increase risk of caesarean section,infection and poor healing.
Low Agar scores (condition of the baby at birth at one and five minutes)
Delayed fetal growth
Respiratory problems
Gestational Diabetes (diabetes in pregnancy)
Complications during labour
Pre eclampsia (risk to heart and kidney damage)
Fetal abnormalities (reports of cleft palate/lips)

Strong risk of post partum depression and poor lactation(milk production)
leading to unseccussful breast feeding.

Laxatives,diuretics and other medications taken are harmful to the developing baby. These substances take away the nutrients and fluids before they are able to be used to feed and noursih the baby, which can possibly lead to fetal abnormalities. FOLIC ACID is vital to aide in some of these abnormalities.
A stable diet is vital for a healhty mother and baby.
Protein for the growth of new tissue as is calcium and Iron. Vitamin C and D is needed to help Iron absorption. Carbohydrates is very important for blood sugars as the baby's neurological development. Even a few mintues of low blood sugars my have an effect.
Fibre is important to prevent consipation in pregnancy which can be very distressing.
Also Alcohol and smoking will seriously effect your babies health.

In essence
Recovery and pregnancy is the way to go!!!!!!
You have a wonderful future and many precious gifts to enjoy yet.
Allow yourself to enjoy these gifts and all the wonderful experiences they bring.Ed is not take of your life or future but motherhood is for everybody!

Comments

Nice to have the Choice

Submitted on June 9th, 2010

Hi Everyone,,,,,,,,just a point that may fprovide some food for thought.

I Know that gettin your periods back when in recovery-nourishing and healing the body, can be scary....I've been there, but

Ya know whats scarier than gettin your periods back?

Not getting them back when you're fully recovered!

 

Now I trust that my body will sort itself out eventually......I have not treated it with respect, and it's just taking a while to forgive me altogether, BUT having said that, I have been recovered for quite some time now, and I think it's an issue that is worth at least  thinking about for those of you that couldn't give a crap if you never get it, writing off ever wanting kids anyway....(I was one of these people).

Trust me, things change when you're recovered.....and even if you didn't want kids, it would be nice to have the choice......you will appreciate making your own choices, not having your life influenced by your ED.

Anyways, like I said, I've come too far to not realise the beneifts and payoff of HOPE and so I'm sure eventually, my body will trust me again. But PLEASE don't chance it any more than you already have. Do not prolong your eating disorder. There is no draw backs to a speedy recovery, there are many to prolonging your condition!

 

S

A major motivation

Submitted on June 9th, 2010

Having a family is one of my major motivations for recovery. Thank you so much for posting this, it has really helped me to learn about the importance of a healthy diet in order to have children in the future. The benefits of having healthy, loving, adoring, beautiful children far outweight the desire and quest to maintain the 'perfect' body.....something which is impossible to achieve, and in trying to achieve only creates misery, loneliness, pain, anger etc etc etc. Instead I welcome the joy of future children and a family into my life.

Erika x x x

consequences of malnutrition for the baby

Submitted on June 9th, 2010
Thank you for this very informative article.
 
The adequate and balanced nourishment during pregnancy and the time of breast feeding is really of utmost importance. This is an experience I have made, thankfully not personally, but within my family, and it had very severe consequences, not for the mother, my sister-in-law, but for the little baby involved. She became pregnant at a time where she and my brother were living with a very strict dietary regime, wanting to be all natural and healthy, they eat only raw food and thus barely any animal protein, vegetarian to the extreme. They were convinced it was the healthiest way one could live, but while my brother was preaching everybody around him the "right way" of nourishment I saw him turn into a walking skeleton. The two of them continued their "diet" all the way through pregnancy, the final 20 weeks of which my sister-in-law had to spend mainly on bedrest, because her cervix was weak and she nearly lost the baby.
Thankfully all went well and after a short labour she gave birth to a lovely wee girl...
Still, they continued their special way of "nourishing" themselves, strikt vegetarian and mainly raw food...
 
To come to the point: My niece was a "wonderfully quiet" baby, never cried, very pleasant all the time... except, with two and a half years she still didn't speak, nor did she walk, not even crawl... if you sat her on the sofa she'd be sitting there...dull... eventually she also began to have small petit-mal fits... and only then her mother became scared and thought something might actually be wrong.
When the little girl was examined she showed all signs and symptoms of severe Vitamin B insufficiency, and also lacking essential fats, both absolutely indispensable for brain development, especially in the first months of a newborn... She had problems with speech, movements, barely any fine-motor skills, no balance...
My niece is now 15 years old and has developed into a beautiful, tall girl, in fact she has physically developed into a beautiful woman, but she had huge problems with school, her intellectual development is very slow, although she has picked up a lot with special schooling.
My brother and his wife stopped with their over-exagerated unbalanced diet and reversed to a well balanced healthy nutrition as soon as they learnt of the causes of their daughters underdevelopment...
 
What I wanted to point out with this little story is, that it is really really important to be aware that with pregnancy it is essential to nourish the body in a regular, balanced and healthy way, because as a mother-to-be you are not only responsible for your own health, but for the health and growth of this beautiful little soul growing inside that is totally dependent on you during the most important time of its development and growth.
 
- Recovered -

~~ "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over...it became a butterfly..." ~~