Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/287250
april 2014 | bravamagazine.Com 49 "You may have some unhealthy eat- ing patterns," including struggles with weight and always being on a diet, ac- cording to Dr. Heather Maio of the Ren- frew Center, an in-patient treatment center specializing in eating disorders, "but it's not enough to meet the full cri- teria for an eating disorder." For Werner and other women with a history of eating disorders, which are also inherently linked with another mental illness including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder or personality disorder, the adjustment to motherhood can be a high-stress time that can trigger a relapse. "Even if there's not an eating disorder there, a lot of women feel alienated after their baby is born, [there are] so many identity changes and lifestyle changes that come with new motherhood," says Dr. Emily Barr Ruth, a licensed psychologist who specializes in eating disorders and postpartum issues in the Madison area. "It makes sense that she might feel more vulnerable and not her most stable self." Our perception of what an eating disorder looks like may be any given cover model with the classic "lollipop" shape—her head looks enormous sitting atop a too-frail frame—or young celeb- rities like Karen Carpenter, Tracey Gold or Mary Kate Olsen, all of whom have shared public battles with anorexia. But we don't usually think of a mom in our kids' playgroup or the neighbor down the street—even though we should. e Renfrew Center alone has seen a 42 percent increase in the number of patients over age 35 in the past decade at its 13 treatment centers throughout the country. And that increase appears to be a trend among other treatment facilities. New mothers, bombarded with images of celebrities transitioning from their adorable "baby bump" stage to looking like their former, pre-pregnancy selves again with a newborn in tow, can be made to feel inadequate on top of being emotional, exhausted and in a brand- new body and role. But, if you're a new mother who's struggled with eating dis- orders or even disordered eating in your past, these images and standards can be downright devastating. "All this attention about 'bouncing back' and getting your pre-baby weight and body back—women feel they're not supposed to change," says Barr Ruth. " at's impossible to maintain once you've had a baby or two or more. Im- possible standards ignore the natural changes that are part of motherhood." While The onseT of moTherhood and the stressors it brings can lead to a relapse, it can also provide a source of motivation to get better. "[I had a] stack of stuff on me—having a baby, being a single parent, divorce, try- ing to finish school," admits Werner. "I was not as sick as I had been in the past, but…I did lose a lot of weight again in a short amount of time and I knew I was having issues, so I sought help." For Sara Faren of Middleton, the de- sire to have kids someday was one of the reasons she started fighting back against bulimia. "When you read about it and all the damage it can do to your body, that was… an eye opener for me," says Faren, add- ing, "I was really worried for a while that I wouldn't be able to have kids." Faren developed bulimia the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school, stemming from a com- ment a classmate made on the last day of school: "Have a nice summer, fatty." She lost 65 pounds that summer, weighing 110 pounds (at a height of 5'9") when she returned to school in fall. "I rode my bike everywhere, walked everywhere, pretty much ate nothing that summer, had a refrigerator in the basement full of water bottles, got into taking diuretics, I lost my hair," says Faren of the dramatic changes in her hab- its and body. Still, it would take several years and the words of a good friend for Faren to realize she had a problem. On a long drive home from a restaurant one night, her friend asked her if she needed to stop and throw up her dinner. " at's probably about when I realized, but then it was really hard to stop," says Faren. After a nearly eight-year battle, Faren finally pushed herself to do something about her bulimia when she began dat- ing her future husband and realized she wouldn't be able to hide her binging and purging from him. She did a lot of reading the renfrew Center alone has seen a 42 perCent inCrease in the number of patients over age 35 in the past deCade