6 Tools to Navigate Pregnancy in Recovery
Congratulations - you’re expecting a little one! While being pregnant is an incredible process, it can be a challenging experience if you are recovering from an eating disorder/disordered eating. Between your changing body, food cravings and restrictions, and unsolicited comments from strangers, pregnancy can bring negative feelings to the surface, even if you’ve been working hard towards recovery. Below, we’ve put together a few tools that can help.
Have a recovery team in place. This could mean a therapist or other mental health provider, anti-diet dietitian, partner, other family, friends. Those who support and love you will want to help you, but may not always know how, so be vocal about your needs.
Continuing doing the recovery work. Whether it’s intuitive eating, intuitive movement, body neutrality, or another framework that has helped you thus far in your recovery, continue to do that work and use those tools! The great thing about these tools is that they are applicable to all stages of life - so make sure to utilize them even in pregnancy and afterwards.
Take away the scales at the doctors’ office or at home. Your body will change during pregnancy, but not knowing your weight (unless medically necessary) can be liberating. For tips on how to navigate weight at the doctors’ office, see our blog post here.
If possible, seek out an OB/GYN that you feel comfortable sharing your ED history with. A compassionate doctor will take into consideration your history and recovery when addressing sensitive topics like weight gain during pregnancy. If you’re having difficulty finding a doctor who will do this, check out our HAES (Health At Every Size) provider database here.
Be upfront in asking for a body comment-free pregnancy. When you’re pregnant, people seem to think it’s okay to make comments about your body even if they normally wouldn’t make those comments otherwise! While you can’t necessarily control comments from strangers, you can be open with your family and friends. Let them know that you are setting a boundary for yourself and that you will not tolerate body comments. You can simply say that you ask that loved ones ask how you are feeling rather than commenting on your body.
Reframe and refocus the narrative onto the miracle that is your growing baby! It can be easy to get wrapped up in negative body image thoughts, especially when it feels like your body is changing by the day. Refocusing your thoughts onto your baby (“wow, baby is growing and changing!” rather than “ugh, my body is changing!”) can be a really powerful tool for getting into a more positive mindset.
Remember, being pregnant isn’t easy - physically, mentally or emotionally - and especially not in recovery. But with the right tools, you can help make the process easier. If you still need help, consider reaching out to Tory to learn more.
