Eating Disorders and Reproduction Essay -- Pregnancy Health Papers

Eating Disorders and Reproduction 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 conception tend to experience a worsening in their symptoms as well as other psychological problems. In order to avoid harming herself and her infant, women with eating disorders should seek psychological treatment before attempting to become pregnant. A literature review by Wade, Schneider, and Li (1996), used an array of female mammals to demonstrate the biological mechanisms behind the infertility of eating disordered women. In simple terms, when accessible energy is severely limited, animals preserve those activities necessary for survival (basic cellular functions, thermoregulation, etc.) and other less crucial functions, such as reproduction, are sacrificed for the time being. Fuel availability is thought to be detected by the caudal hindbrain and in the periphery; when a reduction in metabolic fuel is detected this information is relayed to the forebrain effector neurons that control GnRH secretion (a neurotransmitter used to regulate the ovulatory cycle) and reproductive behaviors. A r... ...feed their children: their recognition and management, Psychological Medicine, 28(1): 93-108. Spuy, Z., Steer, P., McCusker, M., Steele, S., & Jacobs, H., (1988). Outcome of pregnancy in underweight women after spontaneous and induced ovulation, British Medical Journal, 296: 962-965. Stewart, D., Robinson, E., Goldbloom, D., & Wright, C., (1990). Infertility and eating disorders, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 163(4): 1196-1199. Stewart, D., Raskin, J., Garfinkel, P., MacDonald, O., & Robinson, G., (1987). Anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and pregnancy, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 157: 1194-1198. Stewart, D., (1992). Reproductive functions in eating disorders, Annals of Medicine, 24(4): 287-291. Wade, G., Schneider, J., & Li, H., (1996). Control of fertility by metabolic cues, American Journal of Physiology, 270(1): E1-19. Eating Disorders and Reproduction Essay -- Pregnancy Health Papers Eating Disorders and Reproduction 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 conception tend to experience a worsening in their symptoms as well as other psychological problems. In order to avoid harming herself and her infant, women with eating disorders should seek psychological treatment before attempting to become pregnant. A literature review by Wade, Schneider, and Li (1996), used an array of female mammals to demonstrate the biological mechanisms behind the infertility of eating disordered women. In simple terms, when accessible energy is severely limited, animals preserve those activities necessary for survival (basic cellular functions, thermoregulation, etc.) and other less crucial functions, such as reproduction, are sacrificed for the time being. Fuel availability is thought to be detected by the caudal hindbrain and in the periphery; when a reduction in metabolic fuel is detected this information is relayed to the forebrain effector neurons that control GnRH secretion (a neurotransmitter used to regulate the ovulatory cycle) and reproductive behaviors. A r... ...feed their children: their recognition and management, Psychological Medicine, 28(1): 93-108. Spuy, Z., Steer, P., McCusker, M., Steele, S., & Jacobs, H., (1988). Outcome of pregnancy in underweight women after spontaneous and induced ovulation, British Medical Journal, 296: 962-965. Stewart, D., Robinson, E., Goldbloom, D., & Wright, C., (1990). Infertility and eating disorders, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 163(4): 1196-1199. Stewart, D., Raskin, J., Garfinkel, P., MacDonald, O., & Robinson, G., (1987). Anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and pregnancy, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 157: 1194-1198. Stewart, D., (1992). Reproductive functions in eating disorders, Annals of Medicine, 24(4): 287-291. Wade, G., Schneider, J., & Li, H., (1996). Control of fertility by metabolic cues, American Journal of Physiology, 270(1): E1-19.