Pregnancy and the Postpartum period are high risk times for the development of, or relapse of an eating disorder (ED). Having an ED (or history of an ED) that goes undetected and unsupported may result in maternal and infantile complications.

This can include miscarriage, delivering prematurely, failure to thrive, and low and high birth weights as well as difficulties with feeding and development in infancy. The Perinatal period is an opportune time for screening, detecting and supporting women with eating disorders.

However, staff frequently feel ill-equipped with recognising and responding to symptoms as well as having meaningful and supportive approaches to such conversations. Many eating disorder related behaviours can be rationalised in pregnancy which can make them difficult to identify.

Our project will develop and assess an evidenced based learning online module containing information on eating disorders in the peripartum aimed at midwives, child health nurses, medical staff and peer workers supporting mothers in the peripartum.