Model Iskra Lawrence says her pregnancy brought up eating disorder issues
Iskra Lawrence says becoming pregnant triggered her eating disorder.
The model, 31, gave birth to her first child in June 2020, and told Shape that pregnancy brought to the surface “control” issues around food and her body.
"You're meant to be super grateful you got pregnant — and you are!" she explained to the outlet. "What terrified me most was sharing anything that seemed like I was complaining because there are women who would do anything to be able to be pregnant. It's tricky getting that balance of like, 'hey, should we talk about some of the challenges or the potential negative side effects to your mental health?' People just don't really wanna go there because it can be uncomfortable."
While pregnancy was a challenge for her mental health, she said that she ultimately found it helpful to think about nutrition as a way to care for someone outside of herself.
“I had to eat. And it's tricky because toxic diet culture can be so extreme in talking about calories and micronutrients — but you do need to eat and fuel your body with high-quality nutrients,” she noted. “So I found it easier in a sense, having a baby inside of me — it was like a selfless dedication.”
Lawrence, who is an ambassador for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), has previously opened up about her fight for body acceptance. In October 2021, she got candid on Instagram about her weight gain, sharing side-by-side photos of her body at different sizes.
"When all we see is weight gain we negate all the life we’ve lived," Lawrence began her post. "As a society we perpetuate an obsession with physical appearance by judging one another and commenting on weight change. I’ve had hundreds of comments over the years about the size of my body — especially postpartum. So when I look in the mirror and see weight gain I choose instead to see all the other things I’ve gained from living life."
Lawrence isn’t the only star to talk about how pregnancy was a complicated matter for them. Katharine McPhee, who welcomed her first child with husband David Foster last year, spoke to Katherine Schwarzenegger-Pratt on her Instagram Live show about how pregnancy resurfaced issues around control, body image and food for her.
“I was losing control and I was going back to this old disordered version of myself, which was upsetting because I just wanted to enjoy my baby,” the American Idol alum recalled. “I actually called my old psychiatrist, from when I was in a program in my early 20s, and he came and sat with me, and said, ‘What’s going on?’”
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