People say I need to eat meat during my pregnancy

recently found out im having a baby, and ive had TONS of people so far telling me "you need to eat meat, your iron levels are probably low, you need to eat more protein" lol

people are so ignorant!

i havent even had a craving for meat or dairy, thank god

my sister felt the need to send me this link:

By NINA PLANCK
Published: May 21, 2007
Correction Appended

WHEN Crown Shakur died of starvation, he was 6 weeks old and weighed 3.5 pounds. His vegan parents, who fed him mainly soy milk and apple juice, were convicted in Atlanta recently of murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty.

Jacob Magraw-Mickelson
This particular calamity — at least the third such conviction of vegan parents in four years — may be largely due to ignorance. But it should prompt frank discussion about nutrition.

I was once a vegan. But well before I became pregnant, I concluded that a vegan pregnancy was irresponsible. You cannot create and nourish a robust baby merely on foods from plants.

Indigenous cuisines offer clues about what humans, naturally omnivorous, need to survive, reproduce and grow: traditional vegetarian diets, as in India, invariably include dairy and eggs for complete protein, essential fats and vitamins. There are no vegan societies for a simple reason: a vegan diet is not adequate in the long run.

Protein deficiency is one danger of a vegan diet for babies. Nutritionists used to speak of proteins as “first class” (from meat, fish, eggs and milk) and “second class” (from plants), but today this is considered denigrating to vegetarians.

The fact remains, though, that humans prefer animal proteins and fats to cereals and tubers, because they contain all the essential amino acids needed for life in the right ratio. This is not true of plant proteins, which are inferior in quantity and quality — even soy.

A vegan diet may lack vitamin B12, found only in animal foods; usable vitamins A and D, found in meat, fish, eggs and butter; and necessary minerals like calcium and zinc. When babies are deprived of all these nutrients, they will suffer from retarded growth, rickets and nerve damage.

Responsible vegan parents know that breast milk is ideal. It contains many necessary components, including cholesterol (which babies use to make nerve cells) and countless immune and growth factors. When breastfeeding isn’t possible, soy milk and fruit juice, even in seemingly sufficient quantities, are not safe substitutes for a quality infant formula.

Yet even a breast-fed baby is at risk. Studies show that vegan breast milk lacks enough docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, the omega-3 fat found in fatty fish. It is difficult to overstate the importance of DHA, vital as it is for eye and brain development.

A vegan diet is equally dangerous for weaned babies and toddlers, who need plenty of protein and calcium. Too often, vegans turn to soy, which actually inhibits growth and reduces absorption of protein and minerals. That’s why health officials in Britain, Canada and other countries express caution about soy for babies. (Not here, though — perhaps because our farm policy is so soy-friendly.)

Historically, diet honored tradition: we ate the foods that our mothers, and their mothers, ate. Now, your neighbor or sibling may be a meat-eater or vegetarian, may ferment his foods or eat them raw. This fragmentation of the American menu reflects admirable diversity and tolerance, but food is more important than fashion. Though it’s not politically correct to say so, all diets are not created equal.

An adult who was well-nourished in utero and in infancy may choose to get by on a vegan diet, but babies are built from protein, calcium, cholesterol and fish oil. Children fed only plants will not get the precious things they need to live and grow.

Nina Planck is the author of “Real Food: What to Eat and Why.”

Correction: June 8, 2007

An Op-Ed article on May 21, about veganism, mischaracterized an aspect of traditional vegetarian Indian diets. Generally, these diets are lacto-vegetarian; they do not include eggs

LIKE REALLY?

maybe there are certain foods i should be increasing for the baby

and it sucks, but the thought of a banana makes me gag right now... =[

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Permalink Reply by Hadley V. Baxendale on June 8, 2012 at 2:07am

You don't need to eat "meat." The risk to a baby is low but why take a chance? The real risk to pregnant mothers vis-a-vis their baby is insufficient B-12. You get all the omega-3, folate, iron, Vit A, etc., from green leafy vegetables. Here's some research: http://nutritionfacts.org/video/american-vegans-placing-babies-at-r... So add a B-12 supplement while pregnant and nursing -- also, since omega-3 is so vitally important during gestation and nursing, for both mom and baby, the recommendation to eat ground Flaxseed (2 to 4 T) or Chia (although flaxseed has more lignans which help prevent breast cancer than does chia) (or eat both) is excellent. And get out into the sun or take a Vit. D supplement. Those people living on remote islands eating fruit weren't washing them and so they got all the B-12 they needed from the bacteria on the fruit and the dirt on their dirty hands. The human body adapted so well but in today's culture basically we are just too clean and we no longer use human and animal fecal matter as fertilizer so we aren't getting B-12 the way God intended, so we make up for it through science. <wink> Alternatively, you could/should get your blood work done to see how much B-12 you have; most likely (fingers crossed), you have plenty and no supplements are necessary (which is why only about 20 babies a year born to vegan mothers have birth defects from insufficient B-12 out of hundreds of thousands of babies).

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Permalink Reply by Hadley V. Baxendale on June 8, 2012 at 3:19am

One more reason why NOT to eat meat (especially poultry): http://nutritionfacts.org/video/chicken-consumption-and-the-feminiz...

Fruit has NO detrimental side effects (no MEP).

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Gibbs on June 8, 2012 at 3:44am

I ate alot of avacodos while breastfeeding beause thier high in fat, and I had LOTS of green smothies with pineapple, apple, bananas, papaya, and spiniach while pregnant the pineapple will mask the banana taste...although when your pregnant dont consume TOO much citrus in a day, it made me really itchy, thats just me though. spiniach and bananas are a must, spiniach is so high in protien and iron...Greens & Fruit has everything we need you just gotta do your research on what different fruits have, I also had a vegan midwife whos has had seven children & was very supportive and full of knowledge

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Permalink Reply by Anette Marie on June 8, 2012 at 6:03pm

This is a great site to show sceptic people :) It explains it all very well! http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural.html

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl on June 9, 2012 at 11:43am

My iron levels were top notch when I was pregnant. My midwives were so surprised since I was a vegetarian. (eye roll) People don't have a clue.

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Permalink Reply by Melissa Marks aka Mama Orangutan on June 9, 2012 at 1:23pm

My five month old baby girl has never been exposed to animal products! I was completely vegan (though kind of high-fat) throughout my pregnancy, and am still completely vegan (low fat, mostly raw) now while breastfeeding her. I am short, 5'1" and grew a healthy, vigorous 6lb 12oz baby whom I birthed safely at home...she more than doubled her size in three months. She's almost 17lbs now, healthy, happy, feisty, intelligent and curious.

First, make sure you're eating enough. I know that's difficult in the first trimester. I basically lived on pineapple and plain boiled potatoes until I could stomach other fruits and greens again. Then, find yourself a good midwife. They will push protein on you, but they are at least accepting of vegetarian diets. Finally, research, research, research. Watch "The Business of Being Born" documentary on Netflix. Join Mothering.com and read "Birth and Breastfeeding" by Michel Odent. Sign up for Birthing From Within childbirth classes.

And have a beautiful pregnancy! <3

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Permalink Reply by Gabrielle Glowacki on June 9, 2012 at 5:36pm

thank you :)

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Permalink Reply by Greenmama on June 12, 2012 at 4:13am

I second all of these recommendations! Be vague with your midwife about what you are eating, as most of them are trained to push the Brewer diet (a quart of milk, 2 eggs, organ meats, etc.!). Just reassure her you are getting "lots of protein."

Also, make sure to take your b-12 to avoid iron issues. Many midwives are constrained to force hospital transfer if your iron is too low.

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Permalink Reply by Tasha Frost on June 12, 2012 at 5:06am

The death of the baby has nothing to do with the parents being vegan. The baby died because the parents fed him soy milk and apple juice. This article is misleading and fear promoting. A 6 week old baby needs breast milk! Even formula would be better than giving your baby soy milk and apple juice.

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Permalink Reply by Grayson on November 13, 2012 at 1:11pm

I recommend adding in some more avocados, raw fresh coconut milk, some soaked almonds, walnuts, hemp seeds, flax, chia.

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Permalink Reply by Caitlin Anne on November 13, 2012 at 1:18pm

Congratulations! I am recently preggo as well.

I first went to a traditional ob/gyn and she surprisingly told me that a vegan diet during pregnancy is great and that I probably knew how to eat healthy already and she didn't have to review much nutrition info and warnings with me. She seemed very enthusiastic and told me it was a good thing.

I still switched to a natural birthing center for other reasons, and one of the midwives there is ALL about the protein. She told me that I was probably going to want meat or cheese at some point, that most vegans "give in" during pregnancy, and that I needed 50-60 grams of protein a day. (I do want to know more about that figure because eating 811 I can get anywhere from 25-40 g a day). This woman also told me that vegans usually have a hard time during labor and "run out of energy because they didn't get enough protein." This made me lol inside. I'm going to be so carbed up during labor... what does protein have to do with energy?! Lol. Anways, this woman was overweight (no offense) so I'm not going to get scared of her protein-mongering or give her nutrition "advice" much thought. Shes' been delivering babies for 20+ years so I *will* listen to what she has to stay about childbirth though.

It's just funny how the traditional doctor was gung-ho about veganism and the "granola" midwife was against it.

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Permalink Reply by vegan witch Ⓥ on November 13, 2012 at 1:23pm

umm - yeah - they dont look like responsible or intelligent parents to me.

the highest source of iron are dried herbs followed by cocoa - people in the victorian era had a problem with too much iron in their diet because they cooked and stored things in "iron" - iron pots, iron pans, iron everything - now where is meat flesh in all of this - its not - vegans get their iron from the same place the OTHER animals get it - from their greens.

now to protein - so why do you need huge amounts of protein ? - the fact is that high protein diets cause cancer - the most successful anti cancer diet in the world only allows 5 % of protein and that is plant protein at that - so what does that tell you ?

your body only needs between 5-10% protein - but it needs tons of carbs because thats what your body runs on - its fuel is carbs so eat the majority of you food as raw organic vegan carbs.