Above my posts on this blog is a banner that advertises certain resolutions to infertility and information on adoption and such. While I was reading through my comments a while back, I noticed that all three ads were regarding eating disorders. Knowing that there must be a link between the two, I delved further into the connection.

The site pregnancy-info.net had the following information.

Right out of the box, I got a surprise that I didn't know about eating disorders. I had always known about anorexia and bulimia, but this site also adds in compulsive overeating as a disorder.

All three types of eating disorders have numerous health problems associated with them. Due to the unhealthy weight and/or lack of nutrition, a person with an eating disorder can damage their major organs and throw their hormonal systems out of whack. Since these are not just physical but mental illnesses as well, anorexics, bulimics and compulsive overeaters are more likely to suffer from stress, anxiety and depression.

All of these factors combined can make conception, fertilization of an egg, implantation and carrying a pregnancy to term very difficult and, in some cases, impossible. A poor diet as well as stress and depression can also contribute to the development of other fertility problems such as low libido and polycystic ovarian syndrome

Just some of the infertility problems associated with eating disorders include:

Amenorrhea
Irregular menstrual cycles
Reduced egg quality
Ovarian failure
Poor uterine environment
Miscarriage

The seriousness of these eating disorders also can continue through pregnancy. Without treatment a woman's fertility and child to be are also at stake, along with her own health. This read was eye-opening, as I didn't realize the far reaching implications that these disorders have. I also knew about amenorrhea and irregular cycles, but reading the words ovarian failure, really drove home the seriousness of these issues.