Trajectories and Predictors of Maternal Eating Behaviors Across the First Year Postpartum: The Role of Women's Childhood Trauma in Emotional, External and Restraint Eating

The first year postpartum is a sensitive time for maternal eating behaviors including emotional, external and restrained eating, which have all been associated with negative health outcomes. Furthermore, among women with a history of trauma, the stress of the postpartum period and early parenting may replicate feelings of helplessness and overwhelm experienced during childhood trauma, which may further contribute to these eating behaviors. Although evidence has shown how mothers eat during this time has long-term implications for infants' eating and health, limited research has characterized eating trajectories and associations with women's history of childhood trauma exposure during this critical period. This exploratory study examined trajectories of emotional, external, and restrained eating across the first year postpartum and delineated associations with childhood trauma. Women (N = 283) reported on emotional, external, and restrained eating across the first year postpartum (2, 6, and 12 months), and on childhood trauma exposure, postpartum depression symptoms, breastfeeding, and pre-pregnancy body mass index. Results of latent growth curve modeling revealed that mother's emotional and external eating increased while restrained eating did not change across the first year postpartum. Furthermore, mother's exposure to childhood trauma was associated with greater increases in emotional eating across the first year postpartum but not with the external and restrained eating trajectories. Findings provide valuable information on the trajectories and risk factors for postpartum eating behaviors.