Perceptions of Their Own Body and of the Body of Their Child Among Young Mothers With Anorexia Nervosa

Perceptions of Their Own Body and of the Body of Their Child Among Young Mothers With Anorexia Nervosa

The BodyBabe studies aims to evaluate the perceptions that young mothers with anorexia nervosa (active or in remission) have of their own body and of the body of their child. The evaluations are carried out with self-assessment questionnaires and silhouette scales at three time points: D0 (during the stay at the maternity hospital), D15 (15 days after delivery) and M9 (9 months after delivery).

The output expected from this study is to validate a questionnaire to help healthcare providers to adapt their care of women with anorexia nervosa during the pregnancy and the post-partum period.

During the stay at maternity hospital, healthcare providers will identify potential candidates for the study on a daily basis according to the following criteria :

• BMI at the beginning of the pregnancy lower than 18,5 kg/m2 And/or
• History of anorexia nervosa

Tools and methods

The questionnaires used for the self-assessments are the following :

• Two questionnaires that evaluate the body satisfaction

  • The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ)
  • A questionnaire assessing the satisfaction of the mother regarding her baby's body shape (BodyBabe questionnaire).

• Two silhouette scales

  • Stunkard scale also called Figure Rating Scale (FRS)5
  • Infant Body Figure Drawings

• A questionnaire evaluating the severity of the eating disorders : Eating Attitude Test (EAT)

• A questionnaire detecting depression symptoms during post-partum : Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale (EPDS)

Inclusion Criteria:

• adult woman, understanding and reading French, delivering in the CHU (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire) Clermont-Ferrand maternity hospital between 01/15/2020 and 01/14/2021, and with active or in remission anorexia nervosa diagnosed according to DSM-5 criteria (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
• able to accept participating to the study
• Affiliated to the national healthcare system

Exclusion Criteria:

• delivery before 32 weeks of amenorrhea (significant prematurity and extreme prematurity)
• death in utero or medically-motivated induced termination
• infant death during labour or post-partum
• refusal to participate