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By Tay Shi'an
PREGNANT with her first child but terrified about piling on weight, a 30-year-old housewife in Singapore became obsessed with dieting and exercise.
The former marathon runner ran several kilometres every day even into her last trimester.
But Beth (not her real name) paid the price for her obsession - her baby was born premature and had health problems.
She's not alone. There's now a term to describe the trend of pregnant women with eating disorders - pregorexia.
Pregorexics, as the women are referred to, go to such extremes in their quest to remain trim that they put their baby's health in jeopardy.
In Beth's case, apart from regular exercise, she was also strict with her diet, taking minimal carbohydrates and fat.
She controlled her appetite to the extent that her husband always complained about it during antenatal visits with Dr Peter Chew, a senior consultant gynaecologist at Gleneagles Medical Centre.
Beth eventually went into premature labour. The baby was small and had signs of IUGR (intra-uterine growth restriction), and had to be kept in neonatal intensive care.
Dr Helen Chen, head and senior consultant psychiatrist at KK Women's and Children's Hospital's mental wellness service, said the condition is generally described as anorexia nervosa (or eating disorder) in pregnancy.
It's a small but growing problem around the world.
This week, the New York Times featured a pregorexic woman whose secret obsession caused her child to be born premature, suffer seizures and attention deficit problems.
In March, a documentary on pregorexia, titled The Truth About Super Skinny Pregnancies, filmed by Louise Redknapp, former Eternal singer and wife of former Liverpool footballer Jamie Redknapp, was aired in the UK.
Local doctors said pregorexia is rare in Singapore. The opposite is usually the case here - mothers gaining too much weight during pregnancy.
Dangerous for mum, child
Dr Tan Hak Koon, a senior consultant with Singapore General Hospital's department of obstetrics & gynaecology, said severe dieting during pregnancy has dangerous consequences for both mother and child.
The baby could be premature, suffer from IUGR, have low blood oxygen levels, hypoglycemia, and may suffer foetal anomalies. In severe cases, it may develop brain and spine defects like spinal bifida.
The mother may suffer from dehydration, hypotension, giddy and fainting spells, electrolyte imbalances, and anaemia, all of which have impact on foetal development.
Dr Tan added that malnourished mums are less able to stand the stressful process of labour and loss of blood. They may even suffer from hypotension and heart failure during labour.
'That's why we always tell mothers they should be in the pink of health. It's dangerous to go through labour if the body is not in the best condition,' he said.
Dr Chen added that psychologically, such mums may be at risk of developing depression, which often co-exists with eating disorders.
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