Perinatal Eating Disorders Study Town Hall

Myths about who eating disorders affect prevent ED detection among pregnant and postpartum individuals, especially Black birthing individuals. CARE graduate student Mari Thomeczek is developing an eating disorder screening tool for pregnant and postpartum individuals centered on findings from qualitative interviews conducted with Black, African American, and Afro-Caribbean individuals about eating and body image during pregnancy and postpartum.

Mari collaborated on the development of this project with the Community Expert Review Board (CERB) at Uzazi Village. Uzazi Village is an organization in Kansas City that promotes birthing health equity. The CERB works with researchers and policymakers to refine projects that impact communities of color. Through financial support from Postpartum Support International and the KU Racial Equity Fund, Mari is creating a racially inclusive screening tool for use within obstetric and other healthcare settings across the U.S.

In an effort to share back and involve interview participants throughout the research process, Mari hosted a town hall for participant feedback on December 3, 2024. The following video is a recording of that town hall, where Mari explores major themes that appeared throughout the interviews, as well as clinical implications and future directions.