Can i breast feed my DD-to-be if i'm vegan?

[GrannyGrissle]

Recently turned to a full vegan diet and it suddenly dawned on me that it can't possibly be vegan to breast feed my baby when she is born in November? How did i not know/realise this?

We are mammals.
Name comes from mammary glands, that is what we all have in common, the very definition of a mammal:
"Females of all mammal species nurse their young with milk, secreted from the mammary glands."

There is no alternative to their mothers milk for any mammal babies, apart from non vegan humans...

Also... you just turned vegan. This isn’t a lifetime of abstinence from animal products.... maybe let the bandwagon roll on by, until you’ve either educated yourself a bit, or your kid is old enough to make themselves a bacon sandwich if they want one.

You need to talk to your midwife/health visitor may be best way to address worries

Please say this is a wind up... 😳

Best thread ever

OP what were you planning on feeding your baby then? If you're not going to breastfeed, carrot sticks and hummus?

You do know that your body will naturally produce milk for your baby as that's natural and what happens 🤷🏻‍♀️

There is also evidence that a vegan diet is also inadequate for breastfeeding.

One case is outlined in the report I have linked and the parents were convicted of neglect. It was clear that the infant was grossly deficient in several nutrients as a result of the mother’s vegan diet, they did not seek care for the baby who consequently died.

www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/baby-breastfed-by-vegan-mother-dies/

Ok, OP I’ll bite. Milk is a natural product designed to feed the infant offspring of mammals. Cow milk feeds calves, goat milk feeds ( goat) kids, human milk feeds human babies. Vegans don’t believe in cross species milk nutrition so cows milk , goat milk etc should not feed human babies. ( or presumably the reverse, though quantity would make that highly theoretical )

You may well be ambivalent about the act of breastfeeding but veganism is not going to provide you with a valid reason for rejecting it.

If you feel like a caged animal by breastfeeding then you're doing it so wrong.
And in response to your previous comment this does not make bf wrong or weird!
There's two options for feeding your baby.
Formula which has cows milk in it or breastfeeding you pick!

'BREASTMILK IS VEGAN'
Depends who drinks it! It's not if a calf has it....

Haha very true! I assume we're talking about vegan humans, however. To a calf cow's milk is vegan. falls further down rabbit hole

How are you planning on feeding your baby?

“There is also evidence that a [inadequately planned] vegan diet is also inadequate for breastfeeding.”

Fixed that for you.

Are you eating well yourself now? It's a challenge bring vegan and pregnant. These are such peculiar questions I wonder if your brain is functioning at its optimum?

If it is anything like cows milk it is full of blood , pus and antibiotics.

Lifelong vegan here with vegan children. The only way to raise a baby vegan is to breastfeed (I don't believe there are any vegan formulas).

You are right

Try coke and chips, you baby will be fine

While your unborn slumbers in your womb, she;ll be absorbing her nutrients from the placenta which is a rich and bloody organ, is that vegan?

Of course it is.
And if you decide to eat your own placenta, it is still vegan because no animal has died or suffered to facilitate this

Just like your breastmilk

There are formulas that are dairy free but they aren't great and should only be used if allergic to dairy under medical supervision not for other reasons

hahahahahahaha! hahahahaha! hey hey blondie-wtf else options are there ffs

@johncena

Genuine question- not goady- do you think it’s possible to give children everything they need to grow, with a vegan diet?

FFS ITS VEGAN.
vegans are against exploitation, unless your baby beats you or holds you at knife point for a suckle, you're good.

I've breast fed, it was totally like that. My nipples were held hostage and abused!

Sorry should have added
YABU

I just panicked

Why would you though? Are you vegan because you're against animal cruelty or because you like telling people you're vegan?

It wouldn't matter at all if it wasn't vegan as no animals are harmed and you made the choice to do it. The only reason it would be an issue is because you think you coldn't tell people your baby was vegan

All the ACTUAL vegans not trolls I know did extended bf so their child got the benefit as it wouldn't be switched to cows milk.

I'm ignoring all the ridiculous 'this should be banned' drama llamas and addressing the sensible folk here. As a mammal it just seems weird to feed my child my milk when i wouldn't drink milk from another species.

There is stupid, and then there there is this post. As a mammal it's weird to drink the milk of another species because it is unatural.

It is literally the most natural thing in the world for mammals to feed their own babies.

Please don't give vegans a bad name 😩

And FYI, a vegan diet for adults and children can be perfectly healthy. And a vegan pregnancy and breastfeeding whilst being vegan is also perfectly healthy 🙄

Not sure how eating rotting animal corpse or secretions is still viewed as superior...

Genuine question- not goady- do you think it’s possible to give children everything they need to grow, with a vegan diet?

It is goady because people do it all the time. If children of vegans were dying of malnutrion daily you'd hear of it and it would not be legal. For some reason people think meat eater means perfectly well balanced diet and not "eats chicken nuggets and chips 3/4 of the time". which is the case for loads of meat eaters.