Adolescent pregnancy and eating disorders: a minireview and case report

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.

Keywords: Adolescent pregnancy; Anorexia nervosa; Child outcome; Eating disorder; Maternal outcome.