Abstract
Background
Despite the fact that eating disorders (EDs) during pregnancy and early child bearing can both individually increase risk to mother and child, there is a paucity of research exploring pregnancy in adolescence and concomitant EDs.
Case
We report the case of a 16-year-old female with atypical anorexia nervosa, who experiences a remission of her ED behavior during pregnancy, followed by a severe relapse in the post-partum period.
Conclusion
In this case, pregnancy functioned as a motivator for remission in our patient with concomitant ED. Further research is needed to identify risks of EDs in adolescent pregnancy, to explore the trajectory of pre-existing EDs during pregnancy and to identify effective interventions for prolonging remission into the post-partum period.
Abbreviations
- ED:
-
Eating disorder
- EDNOS:
-
Eating disorder not otherwise specified
- AN:
-
Anorexia nervosa
- BN:
-
Bulimia nervosa
- BED:
-
Binge eating disorder
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Harrison, M.E., Balasubramanaiam, B., Robinson, A. et al. Adolescent pregnancy and eating disorders: a minireview and case report. Eat Weight Disord 23, 389–393 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0380-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0380-2