Unconscious processes between mothers with ED and their infants
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Who is hungry and who is not: Exploring unconscious processes between mothers with eating disorders and their infants
IRAS ID
207823
Contact name
Helen Ellis-Caird
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hertfordshire
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 2 days
Research summary
It has been identified that eating disorders are a significant problem for the individuals who suffer, sometimes for years with their diagnosis. Research suggests that the parenting of maternal eating disordered individuals will be impaired in some way. This could manifest in the actual weight of the child being lower, or conflict around feeding for mother and infant or the development of body image in the child itself potentially being distorted. Using a series of methods to measure and assess the capacity of the mother to hold another mind in hers (namely her infant) moves the focus of this relationship from the baby’s physical repercussions to a more meaningful focus on the mental and emotional bonding between the mother and infant.
This project attempts to provide a context for the relationship between mother and infant and to go beyond identifying deficits by documenting their experience in a manner that can highlight the unconscious communication that occurs between these mother and infant dyads. In understanding how mind-minded mothers are, this project can suggest where support could be targeted to maximise the benefit of services to this population.
The implications for this project will be to offer some meaning making for this group of women and their babies that hopefully describe their experiences together and how they understand each other. The findings from this research could contribute to training programmes for health visitors and mental health teams who work closely with mothers and their babies. There is a potential for these findings to be considered to other non-clinical populations, women who, for example do not meet diagnostic criteria for eating disorders yet have familiar positions in relation to food and patterns of eating.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0295
Date of REC Opinion
26 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion