title: Maternal eating disorder history and toddlers' neurodevelopmental outcomes: A brief report.
abstract: This study explored the neurodevelopmental outcomes of toddlers whose mothers have eating disorder histories and the contribution of maternal eating and comorbid psychopathology to the children's cognitive functioning. Twenty-nine mothers with prenatal eating disorders and their toddlers (18-42 months old) were compared to a case-control matched group of mothers with no eating psychopathology and their toddlers. Measures included current maternal eating and co-occurring psychopathology, and a developmental assessment of each child. The children of mothers with eating disorders showed delayed mental and psychomotor development. Severity of maternal eating disorder symptoms emerged as a significant predictor of child development, but other maternal psychopathology did not. Findings suggest that maternal eating disorder history may play a unique role in the development of neurodevelopmental functions in their children.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences , Stanford University School of Medicine , Stanford , California , USA.|b Psychology Department , Bar Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel.
authors.forename: Shiri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sadeh-Sharvit
authors.affiliation: b Psychology Department , Bar Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levy-Shiff
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences , Stanford University School of Medicine , Stanford , California , USA.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lock
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011599:Psychopathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index