Vegan diet while pregnant

[Veegster]

Hi all - are there any vegetarian or vegan pregnant ladies out there? I am getting pressure to eat fish and meat from relatives and questions about my nutrition generally and would like to find out ways of proving to people that this diet is OK for pregnancy. I am 16 weeks, no probs so far, high iron levels at first blood test. I am almost totally vegan (have relented in that I am eating quorn which contains egg) but apart from that I am vegan. I am being asked questions such as 'you would take advice if the doctor said you should eat meat' and tbh, I would not because I think it is totally unnecessary. 'But you would if your baby needed it'. This is difficult ... ! Can you get tests for your nutrients on the NHS?

Any ideas welcome! Thanks.

Thanks JD. Very interesting. Sorry to hear you had such trouble though.

if anyone has any thoughts on raising a vegan toddler would welcome them!!

As I am trying to go vegan myself, and LO is seriously fussy (2.4 yrs) with a limited diet already it's hard!! Dairy is one of the few things he will eat. Otherwise a few limited vegetables, convenience foods and bread / cereal based products!

My children are third generation vegetarians and seem ok so far! The only extras I took during pregnancy were Spatone and flaxseed oil. I didn't really need the spatone but am convinced having good iron levels made my recovery from EMCS much easier.

I wouldn't try raising a toddler vegan simply because mine are fussy and as such I don't want to limit their diets further.

It isnt just iron you need to worry about - also make sure you are getting enough B12 and folate as this is important for cellular production. Also don't forget vitamin D and calcium for bone development.

I have no idea whether a true vegan diet would provide everything your baby needs but if it isn't, please make sure you take adequate supplements.

missabc, do join the fb group I linked to.

DS (now 4.5) has been raised vegan from birth, and is thriving. I think it is easier for me/him as he has never known dairy, but I would recommend you find all the alternatives - DS has vegan cheese, vegan yoghurts, various vegan milks, vegan sweets, vegan ice cream - we can now find pretty much anything. For the days when he is being a bit fussy, I do usually manage to get a homemade smoothie into him - mainly bananas and milk, but add superfoods like spirulina, wheatgrass, chia seeds, and various mixed seeds - whizz it up and they don't know what's in it. (Don't put too much spirulina as it makes it obviously green!).

I don't consider that I have limited his diet - I reckon he gets a lot more variety than the average child. Plus, I do not believe dairy is good for any of us, so I shan't be giving it to him.

Abs - thanks so much. I'm not on facebook (by choice) so can't join the group unfortunately! Might check out vegan society.

The more I read about dairy the more convinced I am that it's no good for us. I'll give smoothies a go - he loves nut milk etc.

Do you have any suggestions for great vegan cheese by any chance - most of the ones I have tried are foul and taste like cheesy feet. I tried violife slices which tasted good-ish for sandwiches. Otherwise am trying to find a pizza cheese that works!

also - do you have any thoughts on soya being bad for you (too much estrogen or somethign)?? I read mixed reports; from what I can tell it's been scaremongering by the dairy industry, but I am still cautious about using too much. That said, I love tofu, TVP, vegan yogurt, veggie sausages etc so it would be hard to eliminate it.

You are welcome! :)

I've read a lot about dairy, I am absolutely convinced it does us more harm than good.

We like Cheezly (Holland and Barrett) and Vegusto (online). Violife cheese has quite a following, and some of the larger supermarkets are stocking it. I think it is a matter of keep trying til you find one you like. And, don't expect it to taste exactly like dairy cheese. Tbf, it was so long between my having dairy cheese to my having vegan cheese, I can't really remember dairy cheese.

I am of the opinion that soya is fine, and any negatives are indeed myths peddled by the dairy industry. We also use in moderation anyway though.

freefromharm.org/health-nutrition/vegan-doctor-addresses-soy-myths-and-misinformation/ - I have a few more links if this isn't enough.

thanks Abs, much appreciated! I think i read that linked article a while ago and found it really useful.

to be honest i don't really know any vegans locally (been a bit of a hermit the last year or so anyway since baby born) so it's really good to get some info from an old hand!

I'm not quite there with cutting it all out yet but mostly vegan at home myself, when I eat out that's another matter! but getting a bit better.

and I have found myself discovering more new food since starting to go vegan, which is something you don't expect. you have to be a bit more adventurous in the kitchen...eating better than I ever did in some ways.

definitely feel I am doing the right thing.

Im veggie and only had a problem with iron levels after 10 weeks of really bad morning sickness. I was barely eating but the doc said the baby will leach the nutrients out of me so baby will thrive and I would be feeling like utter death. 1 week of iron tablets helped. I got mine from holland and barrett after fearing a talking down to for avoiding the non-veggie prescribed tabs. However my doc said he would have given me iron water instead. I would like to say though that you may want to consider swapping to oat or coconut milk instead of soy seeing as soy can have effects on the hormones. I would love to go vegan but find it hard though I have cut milk. The main thing that held me back was not knowing enough myself to feel confident bringing up my DD vegan.

Ah see, if you were on Fb, you might find yourself some local vegans!

Lil, I know many little vegans, and they are all thriving. I am friends with loads of vegans who have been vegan for years, raising healthy vegan children. I also know an adult vegan who has been vegan since birth, and she is the picture of health and vitality. If you are on Fb, do join that group upthread, it's really helpful for all sorts, and there are many beginners on there too.