Is the Media to Blame for Pregnorexia

Pregnorexia, Starving for Two

August 19, 2009

Eating for two is one of the delights expectant mothers take in their pregnancies. A double scoop of ice cream here, a second slice of pizza there, it all adds up to the 25-35 pounds an average-sized woman is expected to gain throughout her nine months. The new weight gain guidelines reduce the amount of weight an above-average-sized woman should gain. But what about mamas-to-be who don't gain enough and count every calorie?

"Pregnorexia," the occurrence of anorexia during pregnancy, often occurs when a mama-to-be uses extreme dieting and exercise to ward off weight gain. The lack of calories and nutritional intake can lead to premature delivery, low birth weight and long-term health problems for the baby. Since the media scrutinizes celebrity moms' postpartum figures, some people blame television and magazines for the rise of the eating disorder. What's your opinion?

Source: Getty

28 Comments

phatE 3 years 38 weeks

i am not going to bash lilsugar, but i do want to say that most of the posts are biased, and based on opinions and not just the facts.. it's her site, her deal but it's a shame that she doesn't use this platform to truly educate others.. maybe it's a matter of what people read, who knows? but a trend i see is taking a line or 2 and making it the entire focus.. that being said, the media influence on eating disorders is an old old debate.. anorexia is truly a mental illness, and not just someone who feels fat. there are many women with distorted eating habits, and views of themselves that are not anorexic. if a woman with a history of anorexia gets pregnant, she is going to struggle with the weight gain whether heidi klum is wearing maternity clothes or not. i think articles like this clump everyone together, and that doesn't work. there is a big difference in someone who has truly struggled with an eating disorder, and someone who just is vain.

crystalvillage06 3 years 39 weeks

Of course you shouldn't starve yourself when your pregnant but it also shouldn't be a reason to pig out and gain 50 pounds. I gained 18 pounds while pregnant and had a very healthy 8 pd 3 oz baby. Throughout my pregnancy I had rude women asking me if I was dieting and accusing me of causing harm to my unborn child. I ate very well and exercised moderately throughout. I had a easy (as far as labor goes) natural birth and was back to pre-pregnancy weight within weeks. Everyone is free to make their own choices while pregnant but I don't think people should be so quick to judge women who don't gain a lot of weight as unhealthy.

3 years 39 weeks

I thought it was a decline in editorial quality that was ruining Sugar. My bad.

hausfrau 3 years 39 weeks

And this is why Anonymous comments are stupid and ruining Sugar. Are you paying attention Team?!?! Thanks.

3 years 39 weeks

"some people are so selfish" omg, skigurl, maybe if lilsugar had included some facts with her post, it would have saved you the trouble of making such an ignorant comment.

skigurl 3 years 39 weeks

oh my god, if you don't like it, don't read it what the hell is the problem with this post? this isn't webmd, get over yourselves

bsobos1123 3 years 39 weeks

I gained 60 lbs with my first and it was way too much. I only gained the recommended 30 lbs with my second but only because my doctor sent me to a nutritionist because my blood sugar was elevated. It was the best thing. Maybe seeing a nutritionist to discuss a good pregnancy diet would help people who are concerned about gaining weight. Oh for all those haters out there, I have an idea. If you don't like what lil posts then don't read her blog!!!

EvieJ 3 years 39 weeks

Not sure why there's a smiley face in my post...it should say the heaviest of my mother's babies was almost 8 pounds.

EvieJ 3 years 39 weeks

Back to the topic.... I agree that it's so sad that mothers starve themselves, or over exercise, to make sure they don't gain too much weight. However - when my mother was pregnant with her children (1969-1973) she was told to gain ONLY 10 pounds. I can assure you that all 4 of her children were and still are healthy, were all born on or around the due date and we were all of normal birth weight (the lightest was almost 7 pounds, the heaviest almost 8). I think (my opinion, I'm not a doctor, and I have no research to back this up) there might be as many problems with women gaining too much weight as not enough - gestational diabetes, early labor, extremely heavy babies. I gained almost 40 pounds when pregnant and for me it was too much. I've really struggled to lose the last 15 pounds. If I were to get pregnant again, I would NOT eat for two, but rather follow advice to eat only an additional 200-300 calories in the last trimester. My overall diet is very healthy and had I stuck with that in my first pregnancy, I don't think I would still have the last few pounds to get off. And my baby weighed 8 1/2 pounds, which is the same that my husband weighed when he was born.

3 years 39 weeks

But not your links unless you support the topic and hide it, and having to hide it means it's not "welcome." I never said it was a conspiracy. That would imply secrecy. It's very openly biased topics and sources.

POPSUGAR Moms 3 years 39 weeks

This is a site for mothers to share their opinions and information on relevant topics so we welcome your comments.

MissSushi 3 years 39 weeks

lol... yes.. its a conspiracy...

3 years 39 weeks

Yeah, look at that. More suspicious that it doesn't get flagged when you're supporting lil but does when you contradict her. Weird.

hausfrau 3 years 39 weeks

hmm that didn't get flagged, weird.

hausfrau 3 years 39 weeks

If you cut out the http://www. part of the link it will go through most of the time without being flagged.

3 years 39 weeks

And to follow up on that, I'm talking about posting links under my registered name, not under Anonymous. It's one of the many reasons I don't bother to log in anymore, there's no reason to.

3 years 39 weeks

We can't post links, they have to go through approval and the comment is flagged. I've rarely had a link go through, especially when it contradicts something lil said.

3 years 39 weeks

Haus, I'll get right on that. I'll let Sugar know where to send the paycheck. Or maybe, "mommy's little helper" could, you know, help women who are mothers.

hausfrau 3 years 39 weeks

If you'd like to educate anyone here, you're free to post links of your own. :)

3 years 39 weeks

"Hey lil, instead of the media hype version, why don't you actually take the time to educate your readers?" Like that's EVER going to happen. lil thrives on presenting things in the most unresearched and hyped up version.

3 years 39 weeks

Hey lil, instead of the media hype version, why don't you actually take the time to educate your readers?

3 years 39 weeks

Word to the wise: eating disorders are mental illnesses. Your comments about this being "selfish" are ignorant and misguided.

3 years 39 weeks

Not everyone can "always bounce back to your pre-pregnancy weight." I still agree with Chrstne though.

3 years 39 weeks

I think it's sad. u can always bounce back to your pre-pregnancy weight. and your baby is always #1. these women really dont care if they are doing that!!!

skigurl 3 years 39 weeks

this is so sad some people are so selfish it's fine to work out moderately and keep healthy but a balanced diet is a must for your child, or else you're not doing your job

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28 Comments

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