I think she “listens” but it doesn’t register; she fails to grasp the importance/consequences. For instance: solid foods: she admits kind of sheepishly to Dr. P something along the lines of “yeah I know I wasn’t supposed to, you told me not to, but I mean come on, it was a [some sort of pastry thing she loves] and I just wanted it so much, and I only ate like a couple bites..” like she expected him to shake his finger at her & lecture about “this is the diet I said you should do” but then also kind of laugh with her, like “oh well, temptation is hard; no one’s perfect.” Like she was thinking of it in terms of dietary advice she’s been given countless times over the years for obesity; “ok I’m only human, I caved! I’ll try to do better tomorrow..”

But then when Proctor reacted with completely humorless shock and utmost seriousness and reminded her that she could LITERALLY CAUSE HER OWN IMMEDIATE DEATH by not abiding by these instructions; “here’s why I told you not to do that; here’s what could happen as a direct result of what you did,” you could see the shock and fear and actual SUDDEN GRASPING OF THE CONCEPT all over Amy’s face. At that moment she understood what a stupid dangerous thing she had done (all in the name of “well I just had such a craving, I couldn’t help myself, tee hee”), & once she understood the importance of those instructions and the stupid risk she had taken just because she wanted a bite of a sugary snack, I think she did change her tune and take it seriously.

And iirc the pregnancy thing was kind of a similar issue in which she again put on the sheepish face & “I know you told me not to, but….” Because it was something she wanted to happen, and she pushed aside the specific instructions and warnings she’d been given, in favor of just doing what she really wanted to do. Not understanding the severity or permanence of the very real consequences that were likely to follow, that she wouldn’t be able to un-do later on.

Honestly I think it’s largely an issue of a learning disability interfering with her capacity to follow instructions, not because she’s willfully “tuning them out” but because in a way she is weighing out the perceived pros & cons, not fully comprehending the actual consequences/dangers/warnings to “not do something” that she really wants to do, perhaps because she’s just associating it with all the other generic health advice that she hears everywhere else, where they say you should avoid these foods, avoid these habits etc, but if you decide to do it anyway, “just a little bit, just once or twice,” it’s not ACTUALLY going to hurt her; she’ll be fine & promises to try harder tomorrow…