I'm sure this has asked before - is it OK to be Veggie and Pregnant???!

[ToastAddict]

I've been veggie for over 15 years, for moral reasons. Was quite happy to continue with this during pregnancy (am only 6 weeks at the moment and this is my first time) but have just bought the Rough Guide to Pregnancy and was quite surprised about its almost-negative attitude to it. Certainly has made me stop and think.

The Vegetarian Society seems to think it's fine, as long as the diet is balanced. But being at the early stage, I have gone off an awful lot of food so my diet doesn't feel particularly balanced! And the thought of eating meat or fish makes me heave, so I'm not planning on doing anything about it yet. But I may have to reconsider once I start feeling a bit more normal.

I would really like to hear from anyone who has had healthy babies after veggie pregnancies! What advice did you get from midwives etc? Many thanks

I'm not veggie but would reassure you that your baby will not suffer from your less good diet at the moment. I had severe hyperemesis in both pgs (Vomiting, had to be hspitalised for rehydration both times) and ate almost nothing for 5 weeks in both pgs. After that, all I fancied was bread/cakes etc. though I did try to eat some fruit and veg as well. And I had 2 extremely healthy, good birth weight babies.

Babycentre has info about being a vegetarian during pregnancy - if you dont want to eat meat you can always get the same nutrient using supplements if you are not eating great. I wouldnt force yourself to eat meat if that is really what you dont want to do.

Is it safe to continue my vegetarian diet during pregnancy?

Pregnant and vegetarian

Thanks Slouchy - I keep kind of figuring that my body knows what it's doing, and if I feel ill at the thought of good nutritious food, but can happily eat all the rubbish I seem to want, it must be OK

hi ToastAddict, congrats on pregnancy, I'm not vegetarian but the main things to watch out for I believe are that you are getting enough protein, vitamin B12, calcium and iron. So eat more diary and eggs to make sure you are not deficient. B12 ony exists naturally in animal products but you can get it in marmite or fortified cereals too. Good luck, you'll be fine, I only ate white bread and crisps for the first few weeks but once I got past the 12 week mark the sickness went and I felt normal again.

I'm veggie, have been for decades and remained vegetarian throughout my pregnancy, which I sailed through with no aches and pains, deficiencies or unsavoury side effects whatsoever. My DD is vegetarian too and is bursting with health.

Ignore the rubbish they write in some books, if you generally eat well (and most vegetarians tend to be quite clued up on nutrition) then you don't even need supplements. I took some in my 1st trimester but that's because in my haze of sickness I could only eat potatoes and salty cheese, so my iron was at risk, but after that I ate normally (just a bit more) and my iron kept going up.

Put it this way, if a vegetarian diet in pregnancy is so dangerous, India wouldn't ahve the population it does today .

Hi toastaddict! I'm veggie and had my baby three weeks ago today, perfectly healthy, perfectly normal. You don't need to eat meat or fish as long as you're trying to ensure you get all your nutrients. I had very low iron levels which DOES make you feel terrible in pregnancy, so perhaps an iron supplement is a good idea.

I've been veggie for nearly 20 years and have an extremely healthy ds and am quite happily tandem feeding (still b/feeding and am preg again) at the moment.

I genuinely can't work out why eating meat is assumed to be healthy when most of it is mass manufactured, pumped full of chemicals and linked to so many diseases!!

There are a great many people who are eating very unhealthy diets that include meat, the same as it is easy to have an imbalanced veggie diet.

Balanced diet is about a range of foods that may, or may not, include meat.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!!

My DP's mother has been a veggie for years and went through her pregnancy as a veggie too. My DP was brought up a veggie too and it's never done him any harm!

There is some negative stuff out there about vegetarianism and pregnancy, and some doctors etc can be a bit dodgy about it.

Don't take any notice.

I was effectively veggie during my pregnancy (ate fish about twice in the whole 9 months) and had a perfectly healthy dd who is now 3yo and is veggie herself.

I got no advice from midwives (because I was not actually veggie so I didn't tell them about it!) I looked online - Vegetarian Society particularly - and just tried to eat healthily.

In the first trimester I lived on stodge - mainly scones and pancakes plus pregnacare - b/c it was all I could keep down.

congrats - you will be fine as you are.

It is fine. Just eat healthily and get as good a nutrition as you can and it will make no difference.

The majority of the population of India is vegetarian and they don't seem to have any problems producing healthy babies!

Thanks so much to everyone who has replied - I feel completely reassured now

I get the feeling I will have enough to cope with over the next few months, both physically and emotionally, without making a major change like starting to eat meat and fish!

Thanks again

Anna xx