Women With Anorexia at Higher Risk for Unexpected Pregnancy, and False Birth Control Beliefs
The far-reaching effects of having an eating disorder, like an ever-deepening pool, reveal layers of physical consequences, emotional problems and dysfunctional thought processes that can take years to recover from. Now research highlighted in an article from the Daily Health Report suggests that women who suffer from anorexia could have higher chances of experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, and consequently have higher chances of having an abortion, than women without the disease.
For some women, anorexia may seem like a distorted form of pregnancy prevention, an alarming assumption based on the reality that anorexia often causes a total stop or serious disturbances in the menstrual cycle. Not only might a woman with anorexia think she can’t get pregnant, but she might not even suspect the pregnancy until several weeks later, because she may not have been expecting a period.
The false belief that she is protected from pregnancy because of anorexia-related body changes may also contribute to dangerous unprotected sex, exposing women to sexually transmitted diseases. Considering that most women who suffer from eating disorders also have dramatically low self-esteem, the odds of a woman engaging in unprotected sex or sex with multiple partners also seem likely to be higher.
The research, conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, suggests that once faced with an unplanned pregnancy, anorexic women in the study were about 10 times more likely to have an abortion than women who don’t have an eating disorder.
This study, and more to follow, could prompt the development of new campaigns toward educating women about eating disorders that include elements of sexual health as part of a multi-level approach.
