Determining the relationship between Orthorexia Nervosa risk and body image in pregnancy.

Background: Pregnancy is a process that involves social, psychological, and physical changes which may be a turning point for improvement or onset/relapse of eating disorders. Studies conducted have emphasized that, in addition to classical eating disorders (anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), new types (e.g., orthorexia nervosa) and subclinical disorders are also seen in pregnant women. Based on this information, this is a descriptive study that was carried out to determine the relationship between the risk of orthorexia in pregnant women and body image.

Material-method: The study included pregnant women receiving prenatal care at the obstetrics polyclinics of a state hospital in a province (n=175). After applying the first test on the pregnant women (in their first trimester), the posttests were carried out after the 30th week covering the third trimester of pregnancy. ORTO-11 scale, the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-40), and the Pregnancy Self-Perception Scale were used in data collection.

Results: The mean age of the pregnant women who participated in the study was 27.02±5.02. The mean first-test ORTO-11 score of the participants was 29.29±3.77, and their mean post-test ORTO-11 score was 26.58±4.08, while the difference was statistically significant, and the concerns of the pregnant women in their final trimester regarding eating healthy were higher than those when they first learned about their pregnancy. Among the pregnant women in their final trimester, the mean EAT-40 score was 19.64±8.66, the mean pregnancy motherhood perception dimension score was 25.30±2.97, and the mean pregnancy body perception dimension score was 15.39±4.00.

Conclusion: Based on the data of the study, it may be stated that the pregnant women in their final trimester had obsessions about healthy eating, and they had a negative perception of the changes in their bodies. Disorders in eating attitudes in pregnancy may significantly affect the outcomes of pregnancy and newborn health.