Difficulties in recruiting pregnant women with eating or weight issues

During pregnancy, the eating behaviour and body of childbearing women can become open to public scrutiny. It is important to gather the views of those who are pregnant and have an eating/weight issue to ensure that maternity services meet their needs and to reduce any stress and discomfort they may endure. However, prompting women to engage in research that would explore these issues in depth can prove difficult. This article outlines the experiences of a team of investigators who have tried to examine the phenomena of pregnancy among women who have an eating disorder or who are classed as obese. It focuses on the obstacles encountered while undertaking two qualitative projects and outlines lessons learnt from this work, which may prove helpful to others wishing to study these areas.