title: Child feeding perceptions among mothers with eating disorders.
abstract: Feeding and eating difficulties are documented among the offspring of mothers with eating disorders. Understanding the perspective of mothers with eating disorders is likely essential to develop parent-based early prevention programs for children of these mothers. In the present study, twenty-nine mothers who were diagnosed with an eating disorder prior to becoming mothers and who currently had toddler age children participated in a semi-structured interview examining maternal functioning and child feeding. The maternal perceptions that emerged from the interviews were sorted into central themes and subcategories using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Data indicate that mothers with eating disorders express preoccupation with their child's eating, shape and weight, and many dilemmas about child feeding. They also reported rarity of family meals and their toddlers' preliminary awareness of maternal symptoms. Maternal concerns regarding child nutrition, feeding and weight were reported as more intense in regards to daughters. These maternal perceptions illuminate the maternal psychological processes that underlie the feeding and eating problems of the children of mothers with lifetime eating disorders. Findings should be addressed in the evaluation, treatment, and research of adult and childhood eating disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Psychology Department, Bar Ilan University, Israel. Electronic address: shiris@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Shiri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sadeh-Sharvit
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Bar Ilan University, Israel.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levy-Shiff
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Talya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.affiliation: Children Ward, Beer Yaakov-Ness Ziona Mental Health Center, Israel.
authors.forename: Anca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ram
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Eitan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gur
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Research and Treatment Center, Hanotrim Mental Health Clinic, Shalvata Mental Health Center, Israel.
authors.forename: Eynat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zubery
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Research and Treatment Center, Hanotrim Mental Health Clinic, Shalvata Mental Health Center, Israel.
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Steiner
authors.affiliation: Eating Disorders Clinic, Psychiatry Division, Rambam Medical Center, Israel; Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Science, Haifa University, Israel.
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Latzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lock
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009679:Nuclear Family; D010465:Perception
keywords: Eating disorders; Interviews; Mother-child relations; Nutrition; Risk factors