Eating Disorders, Pregnancy, and the Postpartum Period: Findings from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).
This review summarizes studies on eating disorders in pregnancy and the postpartum period that have been conducted as part of the broader Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Prior to the 2000s, empirical literature on eating disorders in pregnancy was sparse and consisted mostly of studies in small clinical samples. MoBa has contributed to a new era of research by making population-based and large-sample research possible. To date, MoBa has led to 19 studies on diverse questions including the prevalence, course, and risk correlates of eating disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum. The associations between eating disorder exposure and pregnancy, birth and obstetric outcomes, and maternal and offspring health and well-being, have also been areas of focus. The findings indicate that eating disorders in pregnancy are relatively common and appear to confer health risks to mother and her child related to sleep, birth outcomes, maternal nutrition, and child feeding and eating.
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States ; Eating Disorders Program, Child and Adolescent Health Service, Department of Health in Western Australia, Perth, Australia ; School of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia ; School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Hunna J
HJ
Watson
Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Leila
L
Torgersen
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
Stephanie
S
Zerwas
Division of Mental Health Services, Akershus University Hospital, Oslo, Norway ; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.
Ted
T
Reichborn-Kjennerud
Division of Mental Health Services, Akershus University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Cecilie
C
Knoph
Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway ; Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Camilla
C
Stoltenberg
Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States ; Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States.
Anna Maria
AM
Siega-Riz
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
Ann
A
Von Holle
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States ; Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States.
Robert M
RM
Hamer
Division of Environmental Science, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Helle
H
Meltzer
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States ; Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States.
Elizabeth H
EH
Ferguson
Division of Environmental Medicine, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo Norway.
Margaretha
M
Haugen
Division of Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Per
P
Magnus
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
Rebecca
R
Kuhns
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States ; Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States ; Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Cynthia M
CM
Bulik
MoBa; The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study; eating disorders; pregnancy