The stunning Amy Studden with her daughter Arielle (24), Bradey (21) and twins Amara and Raya (10). Amy had a high-risk pregnancy with her first daughter due to hyperthyroidism and Graves' disease. She ended up having her thyroid removed while 3 months pregnant. Her health improved, and she still needed to be closely monitored, but she was able to have a vaginal birth. Her pregnancy with Bradey was complication-free, and she was able to have another vaginal delivery. Amy became pregnant with her twins several years later and enjoyed another healthy pregnancy even though she was higher risk. There was some concern toward the end of her pregnancy, so she delivered via cesarean at 37 weeks. Amy hadn't been able to breastfeed Arielle or Bradey successfully but was committed with her twins and nursed and pumped for them until they were 18 months old.
Amy's greatest motivations for shooting us had a lot to do with celebrating the accomplishment of creating 4 amazing children, but she also wanted to speak out about a life long struggle with disordered eating. At age 9, Amy started to experiment with anorexia by purging and it continued with increasing severity throughout her life. She also learned to excessively exercise as a way of keeping her weight down. While she sought treatment on and off, it wasn't until 2011 that she entered inpatient treatment for the first time. She completed that program, as well as, a follow up partial hospitalization program and has been working on recovery ever since. While she has continued to struggle with her eating disorder, Amy said that the weeks leading up to her shoot are the longest she's gone without relapse since she was in treatment. While she thought her impending session may have been a trigger, she found it to be motivation to do better.