Attitudes toward weight gain during pregnancy: results from the Norwegian mother and child cohort study (MoBa).
OBJECTIVE
To explore attitudes toward weight gain during pregnancy in women with and without eating disorders and across eating disorder subtypes, and to examine associations among weight-gain attitudes and actual gestational weight gain, infant birth weight, and infant size-for-gestational-age.


METHODS
Pregnant women (35,929) enrolled in the prospective population-based Norwegian mother and child cohort study (MoBa) provided information at approximately week 18 of gestation regarding eating disorders and weight gain attitudes. We explored these variables in women with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorder not otherwise specified, purging type, and binge eating disorder (BED).


RESULTS
The presence of an eating disorderly was associated with greater worry over gestational weight gain. In women without eating disorders, greater worry was associated with higher gestational weight gain, higher infant weights, greater likelihood of a large-for-gestational-age infant, and reduced likelihood of a small-for-gestational-age infant. Women with BED who reported greater worry also experienced higher weight gains during pregnancy.


CONCLUSIONS
Women with eating disorders tend to experience weight-gain-related worry during pregnancy. Early worry about gestational weight-gain may be a harbinger of high gestational gain.
Swann
Rebecca A
RA
Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7160, USA.
Von Holle
Ann
A
Torgersen
Leila
L
Gendall
Kelly
K
Reichborn-Kjennerud
Ted
T
Bulik
Cynthia M
CM
D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001724:Birth Weight; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015430:Weight Gain