Eating disorders during pregnancy

Abstract

Introduction: Few research has been conducted concerning insufficient body weight gain and eating disorders during pregnancy, which is a unique stage of a woman's life.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of eating disorders during pregnancy and their effects on physiological changes in pregnant women.

Methodology: A narrative literature review was conducted, using PubMed, b-on, and Google Scholar databases, with the following combination of keywords: ("pregnancy" OR "pregnant") AND ("eating disorders"). Inclusion criteria were: clinical trials and randomized controlled trials, between 2017 and 2023, considering human subjects, and written in English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish. A manual search of 27 scientific articles was also conducted from November 2022 to June 2023.

Results: From 5351 scientific publications initially found, 59 were included, suggesting that eating disorders during pregnancy represent significant risks to maternal and infant’s health. Pregnant women with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa faced 1.69 to 2.90 times the risk of delivering a low-birth-weight baby (<2500g) or slow fetal growth (< the 10^th percentile, 1.5 times higher risk). Most common comorbidities associated with eating disorders were binge eating (43%), anxiety (45% to 50%), and perinatal depression (50%). Furthermore, methods used to diagnose these eating disorders in pregnant women were mostly consisted in applying validated questionnaires to identify eating disorders.

Conclusions: It is urgent to articulate an early intervention to recognizing risk and protective factors associated with the evolution of eating disorders in pregnant women and ensure optimal fetal development.