Anorexia, Pregnancy and Abortion: The Surprising Statistics
Young women suffering with
anorexia nervosa have an intense fear of becoming fat and losing control over how much food they eat. They have a strong need to feel in control of their environment and emotions. Low self-esteem makes them feel undeserving of life's pleasures so they deprive themselves of anything that could make them happy.
Anorexics obsessively count calories, compulsively exercise, and often purge their body of any nourishment consumed during the day. As a result they eventually enter a state of severe malnutrition and in an attempt to survive, the body shuts down any function it sees as unnecessary. This includes a loss of menstruation, medically known as
amenorrhea.
Unfortunately, according to recent research, that’s where the problem with unplanned pregnancies comes in.
A study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has found that women with anorexia nervosa are more likely to have unplanned pregnancies as well as abortions than women who do not suffer from the disorder. They have the mistaken belief that since they are no longer having menstrual periods, or their periods are irregular, they can't get pregnant.
Anorexia is NOT birth control. Of all the choices among contraceptives, anorexia isn't a good one. The absence of menstruation is no guarantee that...
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