Do Mothers' Eating Disorders Affect Their Newborns and Infants?

Maternal nutrition is known to be important for healthy babies. To learn about the effects of mothers' eating disorders (EDs) on their children during the first year of life, researchers recruited 37 women with active EDs, 39 women with past EDs, and 61 healthy controls during their first or second trimester (mothers were in their early 30s).

Data at 8 days postpartum were available on newborns of 15 women with active EDs, 20 with past EDs, and 28 healthy controls. Compared with infants in the control group, those in the active-ED group showed autonomic instability. At 1 year postpartum (active-ED group, 18 infants; past-ED group, 19; control group, 28), infants in the past-ED group had impaired language and motor development compared with t…