brandon Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 My wife & I are having our first baby!!! she's almost seven weeks along! We've been reading as much as we can on all of the nutritional requirements for pregnant women and I thought I'd ask around here for any advice this community has on the topic. Unfortunately, it seems like we've had the same recurring conversation with each of our families and we could also use some support because there are times when it seems like we are battling an entrenched enemy of ignorance when it comes to why we have chosen veganism & how it is actually a benefit to our baby. If anyone has some good advice, practical knowledge or that trump card that will finally silence our families on the issue ( ) please reply! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veganluv Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Congrats...I had 2 vegan pregnancies, you will grow a strong healthy baby on a vegan diet. Make sure she is taking folic acid- & b12. (Just a good veggie prenatal vitamin).Michael Klapper has a good book called vegan pregnancy & children. It is a old book but good! http://www.amazon.com/Pregnancy-Children-Vegan-Michael-Klaper/dp/0961424826My kids have been very strict vegans from womb & are very healthy, they have been their entire lives- thus far! they are 12 yr old & 16 yrs old now.PCRM.org has some good info aobut pregnancy & vegan kids...http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/pregnancy.htmlWhen PCRM refers to vegetarian they mean pure vegetarian (vegan) also the cancer project. http://www.cancerproject.org/kids/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegan Joe Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 http://rlv.zcache.com/baby_congratulations_card-p137475686503501248qdoq_400.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobsteriffic Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beforewisdom Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Here is a blog from an old neighbor of mine, who just happens to be a vegan RD. Her daughter has been 100% vegan from conception. It has very useful link along the right hand side:http://saigenobis.blogspot.com/ VeganOutreach Vegan Kids:http://veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchildren VeganOutreach: Vegan Childrenhttp://veganhealth.org/articles/realveganchildren http://www.veganoutreach.org/enewsletter/20010817.html#feature PCRM: Vegetarian Diets for Children: Right from the Starthttp://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_diets_for_children.html You might also want to read the book "Becoming Vegan". It is written by the authors who wrote the ADA Position Paper on Vegetarianism who are also vegan RDs, who have also raised vegan children. It covers pregnancy and the full life cycle of nutritional needs. They have also published a second edition of "Becoming Vegetarian" which is very up to date and is basically a vegan nutrition book labeled as "vegetarian" for marketing purposes. You will not get better quality nutrition information. Read both books and nobody will be able to scare you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegmama Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 congratulations!!! i had a vegan pregnancy and our little guy (he's 11 months now) is vegan. and for his first 6 months he was a raw vegan (hehehe - breast milk is raw right?). anyway, if your families need convincing, sometimes it helps to share the position of a "mainstream" group, so here's an excerpt from the american dietetic association: "It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes." and here's a link to the full position statement: http://www.eatright.org/About/Content.aspx?id=8357 as for your wife's nutritional needs, i definitely agree that a good vitamin with folic acid and b-12 is good. i took deva prenatals and still do (i'm still nursing and figure it's good insurance). honestly, i found that i didn't need to eat much more than i already was. an extra snack or slightly larger portions of what your wife is already eating (provided it is healthy and balanced) is more than adequate in my opinion. it will probably also help to find a veg-friendly ob or midwife. it's just one less source of stress. another book we're finding helpful now that our son is on solids is "raising vegetarian children" by jo stepaniak. (http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780658021558-0) feel free to PM me if you or your wife want more detailed info!! i am happy to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawaiiDolphin Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 If you're taking a good prenatal multi those are developed to really cover your bases. It's also a good idea to eat just a bit more fat (not too much!) to make sure you're getting good absorbance of your fat-soluble vitamins, which are important for development. Just an extra teaspoon or so when you take your vitamins can be very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegan Joe Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 A good exercise program for your Wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjs Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Congratulations! Children are wonderful (as I type this our 16 month old is being chased around by one of our cats). Plenty of good replies so far, but here's what we did. My wife took Rainbow Light One a Day Prenatal Vitamins along with a separate DHA supplement--the DHA is especially important for early brain development. She also focused on getting 75-100 grams of protein per day. If your wife isn't active, I'd suggest that she start at least walking now. Pregnancy can take a huge physical toll on the body and when you really start to feel it (third trimester) it's too late to start. My wife was already active so this wasn't a problem (we walked up the Diamondhead trail and went Ocean Kayaking in Hawaii when she was 5 months along, someone at my work who isn't active is about that far along and is already avoiding stairs.) Exercising helps a lot with labor, which itself is a marathon. Obviously this also helps keep the weight gain down as well, but if she nurses (which she should!) the weight will fall off pretty quickly on its own. Most importantly, enjoy the pregnancy. It might seem hard at times, but it's nothing compared to taking care of an active little kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegmama Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 those are great recommendations, chrisjs. could i add that DHA will be important through the nursing period as well? keep us posted!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 wow guys, thanks so much for all the info! We are having our first ultrasound tomorrow! Exciting!!I hadn't heard of DHA before reading this post. When I asked my wife, she was under the impression that it only came from fish products. A quick google proved otherwise, so thanks for that.We're so excited, can't wait till we have pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSiren Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 Congratulations! I'm on the tail end of mine now. I forgoed the prenatals as I never took them for my previous children and there is much controversy now on folic acid. May also want to prep yourself on vaccines for the little one and make your own decision from there. They FINALLY changed the normal vaccine schedule this week due to all the autism studies (yay!). I decided myself to do delayed and selective and forgo the Vit K injection (doing oral) at birth as well as no vaccines at birth. Again, a very personal decision. As far as nutrition .... easy peasy, just eat a wide variety, tons of greens and she will need an additional 300-500 calories per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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