Do you keep it during pregnancy or would you break it for the child’s sake.
A well-planned vegan diet is safe and beneficial for all stages of life, including pregnancy. That being said, making sure that one is eating a balanced diet (just like a pregnant omnivore would) and paying attention to the intake of vitamin B12 (which is usually found in animal products) are advised. Iron (leafy greens and lots more), vitamin D (mushrooms), calcium (leafy greens and lots more), and iodine (kelp/seaweed/prunes/lima beans) are easier to come by than B12, but should also be payed attention to. All of these can be easily supplemented if necessary.
Sources:
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“The Effects of Vegetarian and Vegan Diet during Pregnancy on the Health of Mothers and Offspring” (2019) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30845641/
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“Vegetarian or vegan and pregnant” (2022) https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/vegetarian-or-vegan-and-pregnant/
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“The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Publishes Stance on Vegan and Vegetarian Diets” (2016) https://www.pcrm.org/news/health-nutrition/academy-nutrition-and-dietetics-publishes-stance-vegan-and-vegetarian-diets
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“Plant-based diets and their impact on health, sustainability and the environment” (2021) https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/349086/WHO-EURO-2021-4007-43766-61591-eng.pdf
There is a very good (in my opinon) podcast by the vegan society that touches on lots of these points and makes many of the same conclusions.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-vegan-pod/id1522676966?i=1000553736715
Omnivore’s tend to be more nutrition deficient than Vegans. What do you mean by “breaking it for the child’s sake”?
My wife kept being vegan (except one strong urge for a special kind of ice cream) and we have one healthy big boy.
She continued to take her supplements and added folic acid (not sure if that’s the right English name).
And I forced strongly encouraged her to eat enough protein and omega acids.
Generally speaking the folks here are right, you should be able to maintain veganism unless things go really sideways. I’d recommend getting in touch with a dietician though if you’re really worried (not a nutritionist, different beast) and having them go over your plans. Iron deficiency is a particular risk, one that can be easily surmounted as long as you’re aware of it… Way harder to keep iron up when pregnant even than usual, and it’s already tough as we all know.
Break it for the child’s sake? What do you mean by that? As long as you keep it safe for the child, there is no issue and therefore no reason to not be vegan during pregnancy
For me, the questions is rather “what supplements do you consider a ‘must take’ during pregnancy” :)
Just know some people my wife included worry about the child getting everything it needs…
Edit: Oh sorry, this was one year ago. I didn’t see
Same here. We were worried as well, although everything seemed fine because we had expensive supplements all the way. However, my wife then decided to eat eggs again because she was too scared that she was not eating enough of certain nutrients (this was based on scientific research about vegan diets during pregnancy and one key nutrient was cholin, which is high in eggs, plus extreme cravings my wife started to have for eggs out of nowhere during pregnancy)
Why. The child would only then not get everything it needs when the mother doesn’t get everything she needs. That’s a concern that people should have for every diet. Now when you think that you might not get every nutrient, then just make some research and look into what’s important. You can find so much information about it. It’s not a reason to pay for animals to suffer and die when there is no necessity right?
