Considered a real disease by some professionals, mummyrexia is on the rise. While it is strongly discouraged to follow a drastic diet during pregnancy, weight gain during pregnancy must be both controlled and reasonable. A dilemma not always easy to resolve.

Contraction of pregnant – pregnant – and anorexia – anorexia, pregnorexia, also called mummyrexia (contraction of mom and anorexia, in English), is an Anglo-Saxon term for the obsession with the thinness of a woman during her pregnancy resulting in anorexic behavior.

This phenomenon, which particularly affects stars across the Atlantic, highlights a paradox: these young women want to have a baby but do not want the physical symptoms that accompany pregnancy: increase in the size of the breasts, enlargement of the hips, weight and stomach which inevitably rounded. Something to worry about and endanger their own health and that of their child.

“This eating disorder, if it is still marginal in France, has been developing in recent years. I see more and more patients who refuse to gain weight even though they are pregnant. Some future mothers who are a little round also want to take the opportunity to lose a few pounds, ”confirms psychiatrist Gérard Apfeldorfer. Some of them follow a very strict diet, others increase their physical activities to be able to eat without gaining weight.

Self-esteem

“The impact of pregnancy on eating habits is not direct. It depends on the state of the woman before she became pregnant (weight, damage to her image, feeling of efficiency, history of eating disorders or restrictive behaviors). Those most concerned about their body before pregnancy will probably be the most disturbed, ”notes Claire Squire, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. In general, women who are very demanding with regard to their body image have a difficult time experiencing the physical changes associated with pregnancy.

According to an Australian study [1], 1,41% of non-anorexic pregnant women experience weight control problems and 20% consider their weight and diet control to be major during pregnancy, making these concerns a real concern. pathology.

A desire to find a balance

More recently, studies on eating disorders during pregnancy carried out on 250 women at the maternity hospital in Port-Royal (Paris) [2] have shown that if women want to control their food intake, it is at the same time to avoid not gain too much weight (which would be difficult to lose after childbirth), and to meet the nutritional needs of the baby. For many, it is therefore a question of achieving a fair balance between their own needs and those of their child and not of a pathology.

The image conveyed by people

Some stars like Victoria Beckham, Bar Rafaeli or Nicole Richie continue to proudly display an ultra-slender dream figure throughout their pregnancy. If this over-mediatization of their thinness at this key moment in their life as a woman stirs up criticism, it inspires certain women and distresses them, making these people real models.

This slimming trend, even when pregnant ”puts pressure on future mothers ”, explains Paola Aburto, psycho-clinician at the “soft” maternity hospital in Evry. «For some of these women who make their weight a permanent struggle, identification with the stars is all the more important as they compare themselves and wish to have the same life as these people ”.

Not to mention this general discourse according to which the ideal weight gain during pregnancy is around 9 to 16 kilos. This parameter does not take into account the individual and family parameters or the psychological context of each pregnant woman and therefore cannot be extended to the general population.

Mummyrexia is as harmful for the mother-to-be as it is for her child. By reducing her energy intake to avoid any weight gain, pregnant women also restrict the intake of nutrients, vitamins, minerals and trace elements which are essential for the proper functioning of her body and that of her child.

Thus, the pregnant woman is of course exposed to great risks of deficiencies and anemia, but also heart problems. But on the infant side, the consequences are even more serious:

• risk of premature labor
• low birth weight
• hypotrophie
• developmental delay
• small head circumference
• immune system disorder
• risk of perinatal death multiplied by 6

Not to mention the psychological consequences of mummyrexia: perceived as a factor affecting self-image, pregnancy can become a source of considerable stress for future mothers. And in the most severe cases, it can have a negative impact on the mother-child relationship after birth.

We are used to counting a weight gain of between 9 and 16 kilos for a woman of normal healthy weight. But be careful, as stated previously, this data does not take into account the psychological factors and the parameters specific to each woman. Weight gain during pregnancy is therefore a purely personal matter.

Be that as it may, if the pregnancy takes place in full consciousness (except in the case of denial of pregnancy), without hyperemesis (pregnancy-induced vomiting) and without any restriction, the mechanisms that are put in place to welcome the baby necessarily induce a mom’s weight. Without counting, of course, the development of the baby itself.

Here is how these kilos are distributed:

• Fetus: 3-4 kg
• Uterus: 900 g
• Placenta: 500 to 700 g
• Amniotic fluid: 900 g
• Increased blood volume: 1 to 1,5 l

In addition to this weight gain, there are individual factors such as increased breast size, water retention and fat reserves which depend on energy intake, metabolism and the level of physical activity of the pregnant woman.

Sufficient calorie intake

Let’s be clear: dieting during pregnancy is a very bad idea, except in exceptional cases with the support of a health professional. The baby, in fact, needs energy, vitamins and minerals to develop optimally.

If the golden rule during pregnancy is to eat normally, in a balanced way, while listening to your body, its feelings of hunger and satiety, it is possible to give advice to future mothers who fear to gain too much weight during their pregnancy. pregnancy :

• Always eat breakfast, even if you eat it late in the morning: one to three slices of buttered bread depending on your appetite, a piece of fruit, a dairy product and a few almonds.
• For lunch and dinner, be sure to eat a source of protein (meat, fish, eggs, ham or chicken breast) and vegetables (raw or cooked). Vegetables can be fresh of course, but also canned or frozen.
• At each of the three main meals, finish your meal with a piece of fruit, preferably fresh for its high fiber content which makes it both satiating and satietogenic.
• If you tend to nibble, systematically impose one or two snacks a day with a seasonal fruit (preferably whole and not in juice or in compote) with ten almonds for example.

And if you really want to control the calories you absorb during the day, note that there are caloric levels below which it is strongly not recommended to go down if you are pregnant, at the risk of putting your health and that of your child at risk. . These limits are:

• Between 1400 to 1500 kcal per day in the first trimester
• Between 1600 and 1700 kcal per day in the second trimester
• Between 1700 and 2000 kcal per day in the last trimester

Avoid deficiencies

To cover the needs of your child and ensure the best possible development, here are the tips for choosing the foods themselves:

• Omega-3 and iodine : Eat fish (including fatty fish) at least twice a week. The very high quality fatty acids they contain, the famous Omega-3s, greatly participate in the development of the cells of the eyes and the brain of the fetus. Also think about well-cooked seafood and eggs from hens fed on flax seeds. These foods also allow you to fill up with iodine, which is essential in the development of the baby’s brain and in the functioning of the thyroid gland.
• Vitamin B9 : Remember to regularly eat pulses, also called legumes (lentils (orange, green, black), lentils, beans, broad beans, peas (split, chick, whole), dark green vegetables (spinach, chard, watercress, beans butter, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, romaine lettuce, etc.) and orange-colored fruits (oranges, clementines, mandarins, melon). The vitamin B9 they contain is involved in the production of genetic material (including l ‘DNA) and the formation of the fetal nervous system.
• Fer : Throughout your pregnancy, consider regularly eating organ meats (except liver), meat (both red and white) as well as fish to replenish your iron. Green vegetables (nettle, parsley, spinach, watercress), seaweed (such as sea lettuce and spirulina), pulses and oleaginous fruits (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios), dark chocolate and thyme , cumin, curry and ginger are also excellent suppliers of iron. Iron allows red blood cells to take up oxygen in the lungs for transport throughout the body and to deliver oxygen to the fetus via the placenta.