Dr. Natalia Llarena was recently quoted in an article written by Kate Daniel for Giddy titled “How Binge Eating Disorder Could Ultimately Affect Fertility”.
Eating disorders can impact a person’s reproductive health, from inhibiting ovulation to increasing the risk of miscarriage. The most common eating disorder in the United States is binge eating disorder (BED) and it can have similar implications.
Binge eating is different from experiencing intense hunger and having cravings during pregnancy. When a person binges, they rapidly eat large amounts of food within a short period of time, feel out of control and may be unable to stop eating according to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
“In cases of extreme stress—nutritional, emotional or physical—such as an eating disorder, the release of GnRH from the hypothalamus is disrupted, and the brain shuts down reproduction,” states Natalia Llarena, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at HRC Fertility in Pasadena, California. “The person often stops having regular periods, or may stop having periods altogether, stops ovulating and stops being able to conceive until regular cycles are restored. This is called hypothalamic amenorrhea.”
Dr. Natalia Llarena goes on to discuss BED’s effect on pregnancy and coping with BED while pregnant or trying to conceive.