Pregnant vegetarian. Should I eat meat ?

[kirstenn123]

As mentioned above , I'm pregnant & also a vegetarian , for around 14 years.

I always said I'd eat meat if I fell pregnant ( never thinking it would happen ) but now I don't know if I can.

Alongside the cruelty towards animals , meats never appealed to me , the smell alone can make me feel queasy even when I'm not pregnant.

I've tried researching it but it's either yes do meat or no don't eat meat.

Does anyone have experience of this situation or any advice ?

Thanks ladies ☺️

One of each here, and my vegetarian sister only had boys.

If you stand by being a vegetarian I'm surprised you thought this. I don't reckon it's a good idea because if your body isn't used to eating meat you don't want it to react and cause stomach upsets etc and certainly wouldn't force it down if you don't like the smell etc.

Why would you?
I eat a vegan diet and still managed to give birth to a completely healthy, 9lb baby last year. My midwife wasn't concerned about my diet in the slightest.
After 14 years of being veggie, you should be perfectly capable of eating a balanced diet.

I did have a girl though, to answer PP!

I didn’t and he’s fine.

Play it by ear and see whether you feel healthy/blood iron etc. stays good.

FWIW, I gave up vegetarianism about half way through my pregnancy because I went to work in China for 3 weeks and really struggled to eat enough food while I was there (very little dairy and no cheese was a killer for me I think). I did switch to eating fish while I was out there, but even so I came back weighing less than when I'd gone, despite being 5 months pregnant. At that point, given my own (rather unusual and extreme) circumstances I thought it was best if I went back to eating meat.

Take vitamins if you feel you need to make up for a lack of any. The great thing about being veggie/vegan these days is there are way more food options available

I eat meat almost daily and really don't see why a sensible vegetarian diet would be an issue. I could see an issue with a vegan diet and pregnancy if you are already lacking in b-12 at that point but can't think of one thing that you would be lacking with a good vegetarian diet.

Oh and despite eating meat almost daily my iron levels aren't high enough. Turns out that pregnancy lowers them.

Veggie with two boys @Time40, sorry
Isn't it the man's sperm that decides if it's a boy or girl?

Not if you don't want to. Iron levels tend to be what people worry about, but just be cautious about a balanced diet. My midwife said my iron levels were impressive for a "normal" person - let alone a pregnant vegetarian. (Weird pregnancy cravings did have me having green smoothies for dinner all of my 2nd trimester...)

I did start eating chicken and white fish when DS started weaning though. I didn't want to limit his diet and to be honest was too lazy to keep cooking myself separate meals

I have a boy and two girls! A healthy vegetarian diet is better than a dreadful diet mixed in whatever way.

I'm a lifelong veggie, vegan for 5 years. My booking bloods were perfect, told my booking midwife & my community midwife that I'm vegan, nobody has said a word against it! I'm taking a prenatal vitamin with iron, which I don't usually take, and still feel great at 20 weeks. I'm also taking a algae oil capsule, which is the same as fish oil (it's where fish get it). I take that and B12 when I'm not pregnant. There's absolutely no reason to eat meat to have a healthy pregnancy (plus, my mum was veggie throughout her pregnancy with me!)

Oh, and it's my first pregnancy & it's a boy! It might sway things a little but clearly isn't a deciding factor.

I’m veggie / vegan for last 43 years and three pregnancies all fine. I took floradix in each pregnancy which I swear by. Ate lots of greens and pulses and grains - I wouldn’t eat meat in a million years

No need to eat meat if you don't want to so long as you maintain a healthy balanced diet - i've been vegetarian for 10+ years and i'm 7 months pregnant with our third DC. 2 previous babys were both a very healthy weight and current pregnancy also looking to be a healthy weight

Nope unless you want to. My midwife was massively impressed with my iron level in pregnancy, I think my booking Hb was 148, it naturally dropped and post c section was around 113 so still way above the treatment level for iron supplements, I’ve been veggie for around 6 years, do what you feels right but definitely isn’t a necesity😌

I’m a veggie, 13 weeks with first, and it hasn’t even occurred to me to eat meat....! Finding all the positivity here reassuring. Have been taking supplements and making an effort to eat more eggs and stuff, but I’m not worried about it. I’ve been veggie for about 13 years and it’s done me ok so far. Possible helps that my husband is also a vegetarian, so we will be a veggie house even when baby is born.

Thank you ladies. I'm currently working out how to delete the post as some answers have made me feel extremely stupid for even asking.

Thank you for the advice / stories & input ☺️

Please do not reply to this thread anymore

I'd been vegetarian for about 20 years but had a craving for corned beef in pregnancy! I didn't have any, thankfully it was short lived! My DC are vegetarian too, they can decide when they are older if they want to start eating meat.

Sorry OP I didn't see your follow up post before I sent mine. I thought it was an interesting discussion which is why I replied!

Tbh the constipation caused by pregnancy anyway would go haywire probably if you suddenly started eating meat! I'm similar, only eat non abattoired meat and then only maybe once every three months. I'm on complete vitamins, just eating what I crave and I'm okay.

Oh and to echo others, daughter is the same as me as she's not old enough to make an informed choice about her diet (see what I did there). When she's old enough to watch the Earthlings videos and understand the reality of farming, she can decide.

@kirstenn123 Don't at all feel stupid for asking!!! Many many people question the same thing! That's why there's no clear yes or no!

Def don’t feel stupid for asking. I dreamt of steak 🥩 in my first pregnancy despite being a lifelong veggie 😱