It was hard and it was something I just knew right away, remembers Jenn Chalifoux. She was 18 and on leave from college, at home in Long Island to receive treatment for anorexia, when she realized she was pregnant. Since a common side effect of anorexia is amenorrhea (a cessation of the menstrual cycle), missed periods didn t sound the alarm bell. She was surrounded by doctors, having blood work frequently, and on birth control. It didn t even occur to me that I might [be pregnant], she recalls. My medical team thought my menstrual cycle would return as I progressed in my recovery. When it didn t, months into her treatment, Chalifoux took a pregnancy test at a friend s house. It came back positive and a follow-up appointment with her doctor revealed that she was well into her second trimester. It was a shock.