Is it unhealthy to stay on a vegan diet during pregnancy

Question

I'm not pregnant, just curious.

Answer 1

No, it's hot.

Answer 2

not the best if you want your baby strong.

Answer 3

Vegetarian diets aren't even good for people who aren't pregnant (regardless of ideals, we're not designed to survive solely on vegetables), throw pregnancy into the mix and your making everything worse for you and your child.

Answer 4

You need to take some sort of protein supplement and make sure you take a muli-vitamin that is safe for use during pregnancy.  Eat a lot of nuts and beans.  Look up foods online that are good sources of protein.  A pregnant woman needs about 80 g of protein everyday.  

Answer 5

No as long as you get the proper nutrition.  You would most likely need to see a nutritionist during your pregnancy.

Answer 6

If you're a vegan, why take advice from people that don't understand or accept your life style? Obviously veganism, when practiced correctly LIKE ANY DIET, can be healthy and practiced throughout your pregnancy. Like any diet, you need to know what you should and should not eat.

Its probably better than a diet focused on meat and dairy, what with all the hormones and animal antibiotics that transfer from product to consumer. You'll kid won't get any of the extra hormones that researchers think lead to obesity.

Here, read this to help you, but don't let ignorant people tell you that you need meat. "Protein recommendations are the same, vitamin B12 recommendations are higher, and the recommendations for iron and calories are lower than during pregnancy"

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/veganpregna...

Answer 7

Let's put it this way: It's risky. And you are taking the risks for two people.

Pregnant women and their fetuses need the highest quality nutrition they can manage, and that means the widest possible variety of foods.

Answer 8

It's not unhealthy! You would just have to keep up with your protein and all. Like you would usually do...right?  

Answer 9

It is extremely dangerous for a child of any age to be on a vegan diet.

Vegan Diets remove very important nutrients for development of the child.   In fact a growing trend in infant and young child death from malnutrition has been occuring for the last few years because people are putting them on Vegan diets.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE PUT A CHILD ON A VEGAN DIET YOU ARE RISKING THEIR LIFE.

Answer 10

It's okay. My son did fine. I just had to make sure to eat enough protein through tofu, beans, nuts and other protein substitutes. Read up on the subject and talk to your doctor. During my first pregnancy I didn't want to take the pills so I started eating some lean meats, but it made me so lethargic. So with the last two I stayed on the vegan/veggie path.

They were both born very healthy.

And by the way, they were not sentenced just because the baby was on a vegan diet, they were sentenced because they failed to realize that the baby starved to death. Big difference. Parents who are not observant eat meat, too.

Answer 11

i'm not pregnant or vegan, but as a vegetarian (except for fish) i'd do a lot more research only because i've heard concerning things about high levels of soy and brain development.  i *want* it to be ok... but i would read up and seek advice from my midwife and doctors.

Answer 12

It seems like the baby wouldnt because you're not eating meat but actually vegans get more protein and the essentials vitamins then people who aren't. You're baby should be a fine healthy baby as long as you are eating a lot of protien and calcium.

Answer 13

It's only unhealthy for you and your unborn child.

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Answer 14

i think so

the baby needs all sorts of nutrients that i dont think can be fully covered in a vegan diet

but h**l if i know

Answer 15

YES IT IS!!!

It is incredibly dangerous. One reason among many is that the human brain is comprised of 90% cholesterol. If you deprive your baby of this cholesterol then her brain will not be able to properly develop.

Another important factor is that plant proteins do not contain all of the essential amino acids, which are necessary for any growth and hormonal funtion in the body.

There is NO plant that contains Methione, and it can not be produced by the body.

There is also no vitamin D in most plant sources. You can not assimilate calcium without vitamin D, so your babies bones can not properly form.

And my answers are based on cold hard evidence.

Edit: I just read that Dietetic Association study. There information was based on the BMI, which is an outdated sham that does not accurately reflect good health.

It does not factor in lean muscle versus fatty tissue. According to the BMI, Lance Armstrong was classified as "overweight" when he competed in the 1993 Tour de France.

Since it only factors in height and weight then the 'better' scores of vegans on the BMI indicates a propensity to be underweight!

If that's not enough then the information below proves that a vegan diet can KILL the baby!

Answer 16

It may be healthy for you, and keep you at a low weight... but you've got to consider the healthy growth of your baby. You need to eat all of the vitamins, proteins, and even fats that will be essential to the growth of your baby in the womb.

The way you eat may change whether you have a healthy baby, or one of those hand-held deformed ones. Also vegetarian eating habits have been known to spur certain behaviors in children once born. If you don't want your child to end up as a serial rapist or murderer, then you should eat like an American.

Answer 17

yes it can be

just take the proper nutrient pills

Answer 18

Likely yes, the baby wouldn't get everything it needed.

Answer 19

NO! that's great! just make sure that you get a good amount of protein. you should already do that anyways. and, unlike what some people here are suggesting, your baby wont necessarily be scrawny because you choose not to eat things that come from animals.

Answer 20

I don't think it's very healthy to deprive the baby of nutrients that you get from milk, eggs, and meats. I'd stop and add more into your diet until the baby is born and you're done lactating.  

Answer 21

It's not recommended. If you are up for a little leeway fish is a great way to get good fats and nutrients you and your baby need.

PS. This past year a couple were sentenced to life in prison for the death of the infant due to a vegan diet.

Just to be safe I would give up or become much more lenient on your vegan diet just to be safe. For your child's sake.

Answer 22

OH MY GOSH!

All these people who have no idea about nutrition or the diet making stuff up especially about serial killers coming from plant-eaters!

Here is a great site to answer your questions about vegan pregnancy:

http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-pregnancy...

All pregnancies should have careful nutrition and most include much more plant-based diets than the mother-to-be was eating. In fact the people who wrote "What to Expect When You're Expecting" are veg*ns and do have I believe a diet book just for pregnancy (I'll look it up when I get back and edit it in later -- I was going to save this question until then but the answers to date compelled me to say something asap).

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EDIT TO ADD:

Here is the site for pregnancy diets from the "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" authors:

http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/ea...

Along with their recs on vegan diets while pregnant:

http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/ea...

It's pretty extensive and detailed. There are specifically plant-based suggestions for instance for protein, iron, and calcium (notice that beans cover all three and also are in the vegetable category):

http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/ea...

http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/ea...

http://www.whattoexpect.com/index.aspx?p...

http://www.whattoexpect.com/index.aspx?p...

I do have issue with the idea that milk is a good source of vitamin D as it has none on its own. D is added to milk which then becomes a vitamin wrapped in food so consuming dairy based on the idea of that's a good source of D is silly. Might as well just take a good (and better/more potent) supplement/pill and save the money and calories for other really good foods.

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Here's a book, "Your Vegetarian Pregnancy" by Holly Roberts (covers vegan too).

http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=7169&c...

There are actually a lot of benefits since veg*ns are less likely to suffer from obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes those are less likely to be an issue for a veg*n pregnancy as well where they tend to be emerging problems. Meat and dairy also have a lot of hormones (for instance cattle are often given estrogenic hormones while dairy cows -- producing both milk and hamburger when spent -- are given rBST/rBGH which increases their milk production and speeds up their useful life and trip to the slaughterhouse).

Good question :)

Answer 23

Well.....you know what....I did it! Everything went well and my baby came out just fine....oh and not to mention.....body was back to normal within the week! I didn't gain all that unnecessary weight from eating junk and meat like a lot  pregnant women do. There are great vegan prenatal vitamins on the market as well!

Answer 24

On the contrary, it is healthier!

A vegan diet will save the baby from the ill-effects of animal hormones that seep into the human food chain. As a result the baby will be a lot healthier, calmer and smarter.

There are pitfalls, however. If you go vegan by only eliminating foods and not replacing the nutrients. Expectant mothers should find out the nutrient requirements and ensure they are met. There are enough and more proteins and calcium (through lentils, lentil sprouts, soy, etc.) in plant based foods.

Actually, this care should be taken by vegans anyway - preggie or not.

So you have nothing to worry about and every reason to rejoice if an expectant mother goes vegan.

P.S. The more organic and preservative free the food, the better.

P.P.S. Good karma for the unborn baby AND the mum.

Answer 25

Vegans are notoriously healthier than non-vegans. Overall we care more about what we put into our body.

If you want to try a vegan diet, go to a nutritionist experienced with vegans/raw vegans. You will get less biased information that way.

Answer 26

You could probably get all the nutrients you needed from a vegan diet if you were careful about it. However, I'm sure it would be easier and cheaper to go vegetarian or unrestricted while getting all your nutrients. I aggree with the suggestion that you see a nutritionalist.

Answer 27

If you where, I would tell you to talk to a doctor about the proper diet to eat.

Answer 28

Not according to the American Dietetic Association's position paper on vegetarian and vegan diets.  They are the world's largest organization of nutrition professionals and they deem properly planned vegan diets appropriate for all life stages, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy and childhood.  I reckon they have about 1,000,000x more nutritional knowledge than the people here who have offered you completely ignorant responses based on a complete lack of knowledge about veganism in particular or nutrition in general.

If you're contemplating a vegan pregnancy, you owe it to yourself and you baby-to-be to learn as much about your gestational nutrition requirements as possible and there are lots of good books on the subject, written by registered dietitians and the like.

As for taking "nutrition pills," most pregnant women, vegetarian, vegan or otherwise, take prenatal vitamins.

Answer 29

not unhealthy at all, in fact, I consider it a better diet than one containing animal products, and the baby will be fine, what ever diet one chooses, be sure to take your pre-natal vitamins....and get regular checkups.    

Answer 30

yes its bad because the baby wont have enough nutrients it needs to survive and be healthy