Issues with Vegan Pregnancy
Hello All! I've been in this community for quite some time but this is my first post. So, hello!
I am a pregnant vegan (5 months, woo-hoo!) and very confident in my health and the health of my baby. As Im sure you can imagine, other people feel a bit differently. I'm lucky enough to have incredibly supportive friends and family and midwives, but that doesn't mean I'm immune to the ''omg you can't have a vegan pregnancy/baby'' questions.
It seems that every omni is worried and cautious about vegan pregnancy, but what I'm wondering is: why? I mean, I know the old protein/DHA/calcium/B12/iron/ etc concerns, but what I'm *really* wondering is, has there ever been a study or even a single case, where a [healthy] vegan mother birthed an unhealthy, deficient baby? Or, if a [well nourished] vegan-from-birth child ended up with diet-related developmental/cognitive/physical debilitations? Does anyone know of such a study or case? (of course I'm not referring to soy-milk-as-baby-formula type stories - I'm talking about healthy, well-rounded, whole foods vegan diets)
To be clear, such knowledge will not sway *my* decision to be vegan in my pregnancy. But I do believe in honesty and I don't think it does us any favors to deny such a situation, if it exists. I'd much prefer to read it myself, truly understand it, and then formulate my opinion or response BEFORE some angry omni throws it in my face, ya know?
So anyway, sorry for the long post and hope it wasn't tl;dr. Any links or abstracts or news articles or even a point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys!
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Edited to Add:
Although I totally love the support guys (and I do, so thanks!) I just want to reiterate that I am NOT in ANY WAY questioning my choice to be vegan. My beliefs are deeply held ethical and intellectual convictions. I'm not doubting veganism, I just want to be as armed as possible when discussing this topic!
Thanks again!
I am a pregnant vegan (5 months, woo-hoo!) and very confident in my health and the health of my baby. As Im sure you can imagine, other people feel a bit differently. I'm lucky enough to have incredibly supportive friends and family and midwives, but that doesn't mean I'm immune to the ''omg you can't have a vegan pregnancy/baby'' questions.
It seems that every omni is worried and cautious about vegan pregnancy, but what I'm wondering is: why? I mean, I know the old protein/DHA/calcium/B12/iron/ etc concerns, but what I'm *really* wondering is, has there ever been a study or even a single case, where a [healthy] vegan mother birthed an unhealthy, deficient baby? Or, if a [well nourished] vegan-from-birth child ended up with diet-related developmental/cognitive/physical debilitations? Does anyone know of such a study or case? (of course I'm not referring to soy-milk-as-baby-formula type stories - I'm talking about healthy, well-rounded, whole foods vegan diets)
To be clear, such knowledge will not sway *my* decision to be vegan in my pregnancy. But I do believe in honesty and I don't think it does us any favors to deny such a situation, if it exists. I'd much prefer to read it myself, truly understand it, and then formulate my opinion or response BEFORE some angry omni throws it in my face, ya know?
So anyway, sorry for the long post and hope it wasn't tl;dr. Any links or abstracts or news articles or even a point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys!
------------------------------------------
Edited to Add:
Although I totally love the support guys (and I do, so thanks!) I just want to reiterate that I am NOT in ANY WAY questioning my choice to be vegan. My beliefs are deeply held ethical and intellectual convictions. I'm not doubting veganism, I just want to be as armed as possible when discussing this topic!
Thanks again!