Abstract
Since eating-disordered patients can show some ambivalence towards pregnancy, we wondered how they would react when an important other (relative, friend, therapist) gets pregnant. A group of 69 eating disorder patients filled out a questionnaire about their perception of the possible impact of a pregnancy in an important other or a therapist. In general, the experience was perceived as having had a positive influence on their view of womanhood and their idea to get pregnant, with a greater impact of pregnancy in therapists.
References
Norré J, Vandereycken W, Gordts S. The management of eating disorders in a fertility clinic: clinical guidelines. J Psychosom Obstet Gynecol 2001; 22: 77–81.
Fallon AE, Brabender VM. Awaiting the therapist’s baby. A guide for expectant parent-practitioners. Mahwah (NJ), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003.
Tinsley JA, Mellman LA. Patient reactions to a psychiatrist’s pregnancy. Am J Psychiatry 2003; 160: 27–31.
Whyte N. Introduction and review of the literature [Special issue on pregnancy in the analyst]. Psychoanal Psychother 2004; 18: 5–26.
Katzman MA. When reproductive and productive worlds meet: collision or growth? In: Fallon P, Katzman MA, Wooley SC (Eds) Feminist perspectives on eating disorders. New York, Guilford Press, 1994, pp 132–51.
Katzman MA. The pregnant therapist and the eatingdisordered woman: the challenge of fertility. Eat Disord 1993; 1: 17–30.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vandereycken, W., DeKerf, A. Eating-disordered patients’ perception of pregnancy in important others and therapists. Eat Weight Disord 15, e98–e99 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325287
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325287