I’m Not Fat, I’m Pregnant: An Examination of "Pregorexia" in Ireland

Shirley was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1971. She enjoyed writing from an early age. Her interest in her adult years was in the mental life and well being of others. She completed a BA (Hons) in Counselling and Psychotherapy in Dublin Business School in 2010. She has worked in the field of counselling and psychotherapy since.

The pregorexia trend of this decade appears to be driven by images of thin pregnant celebrities. This exploratory study seeks to discover how prevalent this trend is in Ireland and why. It also seeks to understand what is most regularly effective in making Irish women who suffer from pregorexia feel better about themselves. A questionnaire was devised in order to measure behaviours, body image and pressures, pre, during and post pregnancy to establish if variables remained consistent over time. Pregnant women and new mothers who attend mother and toddler and ante natal groups across the country, along with mothers who do not attend such groups were targeted. The data that derived from 57 respondents who took part in the study suggests that although Irish women feel pressure to lose or maintain weight, pre, during and particularly after pregnancy, most do not engage in extreme negative behaviours to do so. This study also suggests that most of this pressure comes from the media and other women.