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Celebrities like Selma Blair, Rachel Zoe, Nicole Richie, Victoria Beckham, Miranda Kerr & Bethenny Frankel who managed to remain thin while pregnant may unwillingly contribute to rising cases of pregorexia among average women. |
Sheknows.com spoke with a eating disorder therapist who broke down the rising problem of pregorexia, a condition where a mom-to-be refuses to eat enough for herself and developing baby over fears of weight gain. It even delves into the media and celebrities’ role in contributing to the increase in pregorexia cases nationwide.
In the piece, Sharon Zimbler, a marriage and family therapist posits about the woman who is suffering from this clinical disorder:
The woman may have had an eating disorder before she became pregnant that may or may not have been diagnosed. Oftentimes, women who have “disordered eating” or serious body-image issues may find themselves overwhelmed with the weight gain associated with pregnancy. These women may start developing an eating disorder during their pregnancies.
Media and societal influences affect our ideas of what pregnancy should look like. Unfortunately, we are inundated with images of very thin women barely gaining weight during pregnancy, only to find these same women losing their baby weight soon after the birth of their children. Many women find themselves worried about losing their baby weight before they even have their babies.
Women with established eating disorders suffer from cognitive distortions, which affect their ability to perceive themselves accurately. A woman may think she is eating a certain amount, but may actually be eating less than she realizes, or a woman may think she is not overexercising but actually is.
A woman with an eating disorder lacks perspective on her behaviors. Women with eating disorders have a strong need to control things in their lives. They do this by controlling what they eat or don’t eat. They also control whether they keep the food down. Women with pregorexia feel they have lost control over their bodies.
Continue reading the entire piece in SheKnows.
