Impact of bulimia on pregnant women and babies & bull; hello healthy

The period of pregnancy is the period when a mother prepares nutrition for the child in her womb and nutrition for herself during pregnancy and postpartum. Adequacy of nutrition is the most important thing for the safety and health of mother and baby. Eating disorders or bulimia can reduce the intake of pregnant women, thereby reducing the supply of nutrients during pregnancy.

Just like bulimia in general, bulimia in pregnant women can also be caused by worries about gaining weight, even though weight gain during pregnancy is a natural thing. The condition of bulimia in women before pregnancy increases the risk of cessation of the menstrual cycle and even eliminates the opportunity to have children, but during pregnancy the adverse effects on health can be greater, both for the mother and the baby.

What is bulimia?

What is bulimia?

Bulimia is an eating disorder. People with bulimia often cannot stop eating and always eat large amounts of food in a short period of time uncontrollably. Then, they will make themselves vomit, fast, and exercise very hard but irregularly to lose weight, so patients with bulimia are usually not overweight.

Impact of bulimia on pregnant women during pregnancy

During pregnancy, the body will try to store more reserve nutrients to maintain a healthy womb. The condition of bulimia during pregnancy causes health problems that threaten the pregnancy process.

1. Diabetes during pregnancy

The urge to eat large amounts of food by people with bulimia risks increasing levels of glucose in the blood, causing diabetes during pregnancy. Even though the food is removed again, it does not rule out an increase in glucose in the blood, while the body cannot produce enough insulin.

2. Have a miscarriage

Women with active bulimia will have an increased risk of experiencing miscarriage due to obstacles to the development of the baby in the womb, due to reduced food sources for babies from the placenta. One that increases the risk of miscarriage is having diabetes during pregnancy.

3. Delivering premature babies

In addition to not being able to meet the body's nutritional needs for itself, the condition of bulimia in pregnant women increases the risk of preterm birth by three times.

The impact of bulimia on post-pregnancy pregnant women

After giving birth, the impact of bulimia that can still be experienced by the baby's mother is psychological disorders and difficulty in giving breast milk.

1. Postpartum depression

It can occur shortly after delivery or, up to, one year after delivery. Bulimia which can basically cause a nuisance mood will affect the interaction between mother and baby. Mothers with postpartum depression will feel easily tired, irritable, experience changes in sleep time and diet, and withdraw from the environment.

2. Symptoms baby blues

This condition is also a mood disorder that usually occurs after four to five days after delivery. This symptom is characterized by negative feelings that usually cause the mother to cry for no apparent reason. In addition, it is also accompanied by changes in extreme feelings or known as mood swings .

3. Psychotic

Is the most serious form of depression that causes individuals to hallucinate. The result is unnatural behavior, thoughts of suicide, and hurting his own child.

4. Not giving breast milk

One of the problems experienced by postpartum bulimia sufferers is worrying about breastfeeding and being unable to breastfeed for up to six months. Based on the results of the study, mothers with eating disorders have twice the risk of not being able to breastfeed until the baby is six months old.

The impact of bulimia on babies

The following are developmental disorders in babies when pregnant women are actively experiencing bulimia:

1. Birth defects

The period of pregnancy is a period that determines the quality of the baby's health at birth. Dietary disorders will cause limited nutrition in pregnant women, as a result the baby in the womb does not get enough nutrition so that they experience developmental problems. The form of disability that occurs can be in the form of blindness or mental retardation due to disruption of fetal brain development.

2. Low birth weight babies (LBW)

This is because the mother has a body mass index that is too low. Lack of intake during pregnancy will reduce the amount of nutrition for the baby and can hinder the development of the baby in the womb. LBW babies also have a risk of health problems.

Bulimia is an eating disorder that causes a person to limit to an extreme reduction in intake. Bulimia in pregnant conditions not only reduces the nutritional intake of pregnant women but also fetal nutrition. The effect of bulimia on pregnant women is not only experienced during the pregnancy process but also post-pregnancy, but the consequences are even greater for the baby.