Pregorexia? Ugh.

Just wanted to share my friend, Claire Mysko’s smart response, to this article about “pregorexia”–“a disorder marked by preoccupation with weight control through extreme dieting and over-exercising while pregnant.”:
I just cringe at that “pregorexia” term every time I see it. It’s just another example of how eating disorders are always presented in extremes (and having the gallery of “look how skinny she was!” photos certainly doesn’t help). That kind of coverage makes it much easier for other women to separate themselves and, sadly, to pass judgment (“How could she be so selfish?). And that “selfish” label is one that the pregnant women and moms we interviewed are truly terrified of. It’s why so many of them keep their eating disorders, disordered eating and body image issues quiet. Three quarters of them admitted that didn’t even discuss those histories with their doctors.
The pregorexia buzz is like this sensational distraction from the fact that millions of women have eating disorders and serious food and weight issues, so OF COURSE all those issues aren’t going to be magically resolved when those women get pregnant and have children.
Hopefully we’ll be able to broaden the discussion with our upcoming book, Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?: The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby.
Keep any eye out for it in October!