Pregnant Vegetarian?

[jessenna]

Hi all.
I have been a vegetarian for 4 years. It is due to personal beliefs, not dietary. I will be trying for a baby soon and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for diet while i'm pregnant. Would the baby then be lacking iron etc, develop slower? Would it be wise, just to eat meat during the 1st and 2nd trimester why baby is forming? This wouldn't be my preference, but I want a healthy baby, so would do whatever I had to do.
Let me know your thoughts.
Jenna

[meow]

Vegetarian women have healthy babies all the time- your baby will be fine!

Do you normally suffer from low iron? I don't and my iron levels never got too low in pregnancy but if you do then I'd be sure to make sure you are supplementing your iron. I took pregnancy multivitamins but I always had trouble finding a vegetarian one without fish oil but with all the other minerals I wanted to include (I particularly wanted iron, folate, calcium and iodine). This time I have found Swisse make a vegetarian pregnancy multi with all those. I take flaxseed oil capsules for omega. And I try to eat a varied, healthy diet- grains, legumes, fresh fruit & veg etc. I also eat eggs and dairy so I get animal fats and vit B12 that way.

I'm not sure about low iron causing problems with baby but I know low iodine can be an issue and as this is mostly in seafood it can be an issue for vegetarians. I know omega is good for baby's development too (take it whiole BFing as well).

All the best and don't let anyone tell you you are doing the wrong thing. You do not need to eat animals!

[Peach*]

Hi Jessenna,
There is a vegetarian chat on BB if you want to drop in. I have been veg for 4 years and had a healthy pregnancy without having to eat meat, and my DD was 8pound 6 born so she was definately not lacking in anything by being vego. With the iron thing I took multi's for pregnancy and made sure I ate well and blood tests showed I had above average health so it can be done
HTH and best of luck!

[luna moth]

Vegetarian Chatter is the thread.

Youc an most certainly do it, but you DO need to be aware of your food intake - mind you, all vegetarians should. Your needs for iron do increase because your blood volume increases by half in the first trimester. Some sort of B12 is absolutely imperative - eggs or supplements really are the only reliable source (some say nutritional yeast or spirulina, but I don't trust it)

I recommend you read up on it - check out some pregnancy nutrition books at your local library, and maybe some of Rosemary Stanton's cookbooks - I have always got great info from them. The Internets are always good too!

I am vegan, and have been for nearly 2 years. My Dr has no problem with my diet while I'm pregnant. I had a lot of blood tests before we started trying to see where I was at - since you ar still planning, maybe you can do the same? It will give you a great idea of what you might need.

Good luck!

[Nai]

I have been lacto-ovo vegetarian for 17 years and have had 2 pregnancies and breastfed my 2 gorgeous girls both for over a year afterwards. They are both bright, healthy and normal kids with no developmental issues. I had no iron issues until the third trimester but then took an iron supplement. I also had all my levels tested prior to getting pregnant so I had a measure to start from to make sure there was nothing I needed prior to getting pregnant. I just maintained my normal diet and got some vegetarian pregnancy vitamins.

[jessenna]

Thanks so much for all your replies ladies! I have not had a blood test in the last 4 years to test my levels of iron etc, so I will be sure to do that soon. I thought I would add in that I eat dairy (rennet free!!) and F.R eggs for B12. I do eat a wide variety of legumes, nuts, fruits and veg. Will read up on some info on the world wibe web
Thanks again.
Jenna

[Cherished]

Hi, I've also been vego for 4 years and my pregnancy is great thus far. Drop over to the veg chatter thread some time too