Pregnancy is a time of big changes! Your body is growing a tiny human, and that can feel exciting and overwhelming all at once. And any feelings that are coming up are totally normal and valid for this time in your life. If you have a history of an eating disorder, pregnancy can bring extra challenges. Changes in your body, morning sickness, and the need for more food to help your baby grow, among other changes, can all feel tough to manage.
How Can Eating Disorders Affect Pregnancy?
Eating disorders can make it hard to get the nutrients your body and baby need. If you have struggled with restricting food, binge eating, or purging, pregnancy might bring up old thoughts or worries about food and body image. You might also worry about how these behaviors could affect your baby both during the pregnancy state as well as postpartum.
Some common challenges include:
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- Morning Sickness – Many pregnant people feel nauseous at intervals throughout the day or even all day. This can make it hard to eat enough food, which is especially tough if you already have a hard time eating regularly.
- Body Changes – Your body is supposed to grow during pregnancy to support your baby. But if you have struggled with body image in the past, these changes can feel understandably scary or uncomfortable.
- Feeling Out of Control – Pregnancy can make it feel like you don’t have control over your body. This can be really hard if control around food or body size has been important to you.
5 Tips for Handling These Challenges
If you are struggling with food and body image during pregnancy, you are not alone! Here are some ways to work through these feelings:
1. Eat Small, Frequent Meals – If morning sickness makes it hard to eat, try having small snacks throughout the day instead of big meals. Crackers, yogurt, or smoothies can be easier to keep down. Some other options are: Gold Fish, rice crispy treats, fruit, cereal, pop tarts, Teddy Grahams, waffles.
You can also talk to your doctor about potential medications to use or other remedies they recommend to their patients.
If you’re feeling particularly nauseous throughout the day, remind yourself to do the best you can. It’s okay to cancel plans. To sleep in (if you’re able). To put off commitments that aren’t a top priority. To ask your partner (if you have one) to do some of the household chores that are usually your responsibility.
2. Practice Kindness Toward Your Body – When you’re not feeling your best, and your body is changing in a way that feels out of control, it can be difficult to show your body kindness and appreciation. It can be helpful to remind yourself all that your body is doing! It’s growing a life! Practice saying one thing you’re grateful for about your body – not necessarily how it looks.
3. Talk About Your Feelings – Share your worries with someone you trust, like a partner, friend, or therapist. It can be super helpful to have a full team, as well as personal supports, when you’re navigating this huge life transition. Asking for help is a sign of strength and you deserve to have a safe space to talk through how you’re feeling and all the various thoughts that are coming up.
4. Dispel Diet Culture Myths – Pregnancy is another time where the media, or well-meaning friends and family, might insert their opinions. And some of these opinions might be rooted in diet culture and might not be particularly helpful when you’re trying to have a recovery focused mind throughout pregnancy. A dietitian can discuss these nutrition tidbits and process how to sort through the facts and myths.
5. Get Professional Support – Working with a dietitian and therapist who understand eating disorders can help you feel less alone.
How Courage to Nourish Can Help
At Courage to Nourish, we have dietitians who specialize in eating disorder recovery. We know that pregnancy can bring up difficult feelings, and we are here to support you. Our team will help you find ways to nourish yourself and your baby while also taking care of your mental health.
If you or someone you love is pregnant and struggling with food or body image, we are here to help! Reach out to Courage to Nourish today to get support from experts who truly understand.
Alex is the founder and owner of Courage to Nourish. She opened Courage to Nourish to create a practice that aligns with her values in eating disorder recovery. She is a Certified Eating Disorder Dietitian and Approved Supervisor through iaedp. Alex loves working with children, high school and college students as well as athletes. Additionally, Alex is a proud anti-diet dietitian and works with her clients through a Health At Every Size © and intuitive eating framework. Read more about Alex here.
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