Pregnancy + Anorexia = Pregorexia
Posted by: Justine Fields
Filed in:
news
12:10PM, Tuesday June 16th 2009
I’ve always wondered what happens to women who think the scale is their enemy when they get pregnant. Most women are fine, and realize that gaining weight is just a part of the cycle. But in other cases, the result is “pregorexia,” a rare disorder in which pregnant women starve themselves and over-exercise. This week, Maggie Baumann, the pregorexia survivor pictured here when she was seven months pregnant, wrote on MomLogic.com:
“Pregnancy was a nine-month battle in which I lived in a dissociated state from my body—horrified by my expanding ‘self’ that protested every ounce of weight I gained…I did not experience the freedom to eat for two; rather, I experienced the restriction of starving for two.”
Surprisingly, pregorexics are not necessarily anorexics who got pregnant. In Baumann’s case, she developed pregorexia during her second pregnancy because she’d gained 33 pounds during her first and was terrified of getting big again. It wasn’t selfishness that drove Baumann to this point. “I just needed her outside of my body to be able to properly care for her,” says Baumann.
Obviously, the outcomes for pregorexics can be devastating. Baumann experienced uterine bleeding and was ordered to bed rest. Her doctor even predicted she would have a miscarriage. Fortunately, despite being nurtured in a very deprived environment (when she gave birth, 5’8” Baumann was a meager 135 lbs), Baumann’s second child survived––but at a cost. Baumann’s daughter had seizures when she was a baby, and in her teen years was diagnosed with ADD—both conditions linked to poor nutrition in the womb.
As heart wrenching as it is to hear that a mother could knowingly starve and malnourish her unborn child, it makes some sense given our culture’s thin obsession. The daily effort to go to the gym, to eat the salad, to get in shape—all to gain it back, plus some, must be a mighty hard thing to let happen. So the next time you see a pregnant family member or friend, rather than shouting, “Oh my god, you’re huge!” maybe tell her how healthy and beautiful her baby is going to be instead. [Mom Logic]
TheFrisky.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network
writergirl
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 12:18 pm: [report]
My cousin did this with her first. She gained less than fifteen pounds with her pregnancy. (recommended is 25 to 35). The baby was born weighing in less than five pounds, premie clothes were too big for him. He had some kind of muscle problem which prohibeted him from walking until after he was two years old and went through physical therapy, is ADHD and Autistic and something else, I forget.
The second pregnancy she gained the reommended weight and the baby did much better. This child is mildly autistic but doesn’t have any of the other problems the older one did.
Sad really what distorted body image can do.
kinkeh
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 12:19 pm: [report]
Wtfff. I didn’t even know this existed. :(
Annika Harris
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 12:21 pm: [report]
Wow, I thought the photo was taken after the pregnancy. I wonder if Nicole Kidman had pregorexia because she didn’t get a bump until the last few months.
MissJennLynn
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 12:41 pm: [report]
I always wondered what would happen is someone with anorexia got pregnant. Except, I hoped for better results… like maybe they would actually begin to eat again :(
Squidtermz
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 12:49 pm: [report]
How can you say it’s not selfish? It wasn’t selfishness that drove Baumann to this point. “I just needed her outside of my body to be able to properly care for her,” says Baumann.
I NEEDED HER OUTSIDE OF MY BODY! = Selfish Well too bad, she needs to be in your body to survive.
nikkiwikki
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 12:50 pm: [report]
Bah! I didn’t even know this existed. How sad. When I saw the picture and hadn’t read the story yet, I thought to myself, “Why are they putting a woman who is clearly not pregnant with this story?” Oh man.
emflow
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 01:40 pm: [report]
@ Squidtermz
Um. No. It’s a disorder like anorexia or postpartum depression. And she did not say she wanted the baby out of her body any sooner or that she didn’t want to care for her baby properly. Rather, she was not able to care for herself or the baby properly until after the pregnancy.
GreenAura
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 01:48 pm: [report]
It seems like every pregnant woman I have ever known went down 1 of 2 paths… either they go crazy trying hard NOT to gain weight, or they say “well, I’m eating for 2 now!” and woof down everything in sight. More health education needs to be given to expectant mothers.
shannac02
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 01:50 pm: [report]
Uhm, where was the intervention? Why the HELL would a family member or heck, even her doctor not recommend that she get a feeding tube in order to help her baby. If that was my daughter, and her doctor told her she would probably miscarry, she’d be laid up in a hospital with a feeding tube until that baby was delivered. GRRRRRRRRR. People like this just make me angry, if you want to have “body issues”, then go for it! But don’t almost kill your children because you are too selfish to get help. Pathetic.
Lynn
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 01:52 pm: [report]
This is heartbreaking! I can’t imagine her guilt.
writergirl
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 01:57 pm: [report]
*prohibited.
fallenangel915
wrote on June 16 2009 @ 03:28 pm: [report]
How very sad.
brackishfaun
wrote on June 17 2009 @ 04:21 am: [report]
i worked with someone who i think had this. she was tiny, like a size 2 while six months pregnant and she could suck in her belly so you couldn’t even see a bump. it was ridiculous. it was her 4th kid too, and she would brag about how little weight she had gained during her other pregnancies.