A Prospective Analysis of the Influence of the Macrosystem, Biological, Psychological, Relational and Behavioral Factors on the Experience of Embodiment, Body Esteem, and Disordered Eating of Mothers during their Transition from Pregnancy to Postpartum

This investigation involved a prospective study of women’s experiences with their bodies during advanced pregnancy and at 3 and 6 months postpartum. The predictors included measures related to the macrosystem (Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Pressures for Thinness), and biological (Weight Difference from Prepregnancy, Fatigue, and Labour and Delivery Control), psychological (Depression, Anxiety, Internalization of the Thin Ideal, Maternal Beliefs about Competence, and Comfort with Breastfeeding), relational (Social Support and Relationship with Partner), and behavioral factors (Physical Activity, Breastfeeding Practice, and Sexual Relationships). In order to enhance the understanding of shifts in body experiences from pregnancy to postpartum, three different measures of women’s experiences with their bodies were used: Experience of Embodiment, Body Esteem, and Disordered Eating. A sample of 208 women completed these measures online, ages 19-46. Women were found to have more negative embodied experiences, lower body image and a higher rate of disordered eating patterns at postpartum compared with the pregnancy phase. Regression analyses were conducted to predict postpartum adjustment, highlighting the predictive power of pressures for thinness, the internalization of the thin ideal and pregnancy related weight change on women’s embodiment, body image and eating patterns at postpartum. In addition to these three factors, psychological factors, specifically anxiety and depression, appeared to play a stronger role than biological, relational, or behavioral factors or variables related to the macrosystem. Taken together, the results of this investigation highlighted the adverse impact of weight related pressures on women’s experiences with their bodies and the need to address psychological experiences.Ph.D