The upheaval of pregnancy and new motherhood can often trigger a relapse for women recovering from eating disorders, or contribute to their development. This book supports pregnant women and new mothers struggling with changing body image, eating disorders, postpartum depression or perinatal anxiety. Many of the emotional challenges of recovering from an eating disorder - isolation, perfectionism and identity issues - are compounded during pregnancy or early motherhood, when women also have to tackle hormone fluctuations, food cravings and perceived pressures to lose baby weight.
The author combines friendly, non-judgmental advice and professional expertise with candid personal experience. She offers recovery tools, support strategies and realistic advice on how to make time for self-care while navigating the chaos of sleep deprivation and feeding schedules. Most importantly, this book will help women let go of social and self-imposed pressures, and embrace being good enough during the massive learning curve of new motherhood.
Author offers clinical expertise coupled with personal experience of being a mother and a woman recovering from an eating disorder
Addresses the need for increased understanding of eating disorders during pregnancy, and the links between eating disorders, postpartum depression and perinatal anxiety
Friendly and non-judgmental tone aims to destigmatise many issues around motherhood, including breast- vs formula-feeding, PPD and losing baby weight
Linda Shanti McCabe is a Clinical Psychologist with 19 years' experience helping women recover from eating disorders. She is a professional member of Postpartum Support International and the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. She has written about her own experiences of recovery and motherhood for the Huffington Post and on her blog Recovery Mama.