What is the prevalence of birth defects in infants born tomothers with eating disorders, compared to infants born tomothers without eating disorders?

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Authors
Neuhalfen, Kristle E.
Bunton, Patricia A.
Advisors
Issue Date
2007-04-27
Type
Conference paper
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Research Projects
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Citation
Neuhalfen, Kristle E. & Bunton, Patricia.(2007). What is the prevalence of birth defects in infants born tomothers with eating disorders, compared to infants born tomothers without eating disorders?. In Proceedings : 3rd Annual Symposium : Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS : Wichita State University, p.147-148
Abstract

Introduction: The prenatal period is critical in determining the quality of fetal development and how the infant responds outside of the womb. Many know teratogens exist, but the medical literature evaluating fetal outcome in the presence of maternal eating disorders shows conflicting data. Methodology: The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of birth defects in infants born to mothers with eating disorders to those without eating disorders. This was an evidence-based literature review using the following inclusion criteria; women meeting DSM-IV criteria for anorexia nervosa, bulimia or eating disorders not otherwise specified[1]; studies must have made an attempt to eliminate confounding factors such as cigarette smoking or chronic disease; all articles were published in peer reviewed journals from 1980 to present. Results: Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria as stated above. There were no differences between case and control groups in the occurrence of fetal birth defects, but the occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcome including terminated pregnancies, miscarriage and abortion was 24.7% in case groups and 12.5% in the control group. Conclusion: To avoid undesirable pregnancy outcome and health care providers should screen patients for eating disorders prior to conception and educate women on the possible effects of eating disorders on the outcome of their pregnancy.

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Description
Paper presented to the 3rd Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 27, 2007.
Research completed at the Department of Physician Assistant, College of Health Professions
Publisher
Wichita State University. Graduate School.
Journal
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Series
GRASP
v.3
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