vegan parent under attack

Hi all,
A very good vegan friend of mine is having a horrible time raising her daughter in Northern NSW, Australia. Her daughter has been diagnosed as 'failure to thrive' due to small weight gains. My friend is very proactive about her diet and has carefully counted nutrients since day one, fed her only high quality organic food and worked with a nutritionist to ensure that her daughter is getting what she needs. Despite all of this, her daughter is growing very slowly. My friend took her to a pediatrician four months ago as she was concerned. This professional was horrible...very judgmental of my friends 'extreme diet' and reported her to the department of community services. Although DoCS have not accused her of mistreating her daughter, they are forcing her to visit the pediatrician weekly (at a cost of $150) and are demanding that she follow this professionals advise to feed her daughter cows milk, egg and meat and a special supplement which is high in sugar. My friend was concerned that she would lose her daughter so followed their requirement by feeding her egg and dairy which has made no difference to weight gain. She won't feed her meat.

I had a call from my friend earlier today and I'm really concerned about her. She has no support and I think it would be wonderful if she could talk with other parents of vegetarian/vegan babies who may have walked a similar path. If anybody is out there who has experienced this sort of discrimination and has any advice or are able to share their story, it would be great to hear from you.

I've never experienced any kind of discrimination, but if they insist that the child should "feed her daughter cows milk, egg and meat and a special supplement which is high in sugar", they first need to provide detailed info documenting that this will give the child nutrients the kid can't get without using animal products/supplements containing sugar. If they can't (and they can't), she has already won the case.

Plus - even if there would be a link that eating meat/dairy products would cause reduced growth, there's no standard saying that all humans would have to have the same growth rate as humans who eg. consume growth hormones 'designed for' calves (read: milk products).

If you check our B12 megadose / overdose thread, you'll even find a study showing a link between height and increased height rate.

From http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retri...02822303002943

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It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Approximately 2.5% of adults in the United States and 4% of adults in Canada follow vegetarian diets. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat, fish, or fowl. Interest in vegetarianism appears to be increasing, with many restaurants and college foodservices offering vegetarian meals routinely. Substantial growth in sales of foods attractive to vegetarians has occurred, and these foods appear in many supermarkets. This position paper reviews the current scientific data related to key nutrients for vegetarians, including protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, vitamin A, n-3 fatty acids, and iodine. A vegetarian, including vegan, diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients. In some cases, use of fortified foods or supplements can be helpful in meeting recommendations for individual nutrients. Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer. Although a number of federally funded and institutional feeding programs can accommodate vegetarians, few have foods suitable for vegans at this time. Because of the variability of dietary practices among vegetarians, individual assessment of dietary intakes of vegetarians is required. Dietetics professionals have a responsibility to support and encourage those who express an interest in consuming a vegetarian diet. They can play key roles in educating vegetarian clients about food sources of specific nutrients, food purchase and preparation, and any dietary modifications that may be necessary to meet individual needs. Menu planning for vegetarians can be simplified by use of a food guide that specifies food groups and serving sizes. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003;103:748-765.

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Check this thread too:
Nutrient deficiencies more common in meat eaters than in vegans

If the daughter doesn't gain weight normally then I would be concerned that she had a non diet related problem that the paediatrician had failed to pick up and would be wanting a second opinion. Obviously not all children grow at the same rate so it would also be good to check that her growth is really outside the normal range.

It might be worth your friend's getting in touch with the local vegan society for moral support and perhaps legal advice?

When my son was a baby there was a woman at the clinic where we used to go to get our babies weighed who's son was very small and I overheard one of the health visitors saying that she was concerned about his failure to gain weight. The mother insisted that he was lively, ate well and should be getting more than enough calories to grow normally (the baby ate an omnivorous diet). The mother was quite small and thin herself, so eventually the conclusion was that the baby was small but healthy.

What I'm saying here is that this can happen with babies who eat a 'standard' diet as well as those who don't and fail to grow normally regardless. Has your friend's baby had blood tests done to see if she's getting the nutrients she needs or tests to see whether she has a pituitary gland or other problem such as not metabolising her food properly? Is she phyisically active and reaching developmental milestones at the correct time (standing, talking, walking etc), is your friend or the baby's father small?

It seems that sometimes it's easier for health professionals to jump to the wrong conclusion when people don't fit into the norm rather than look at all the possibilties.

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green woman

I overheard one of the health visitors saying that she was concerned about his failure to gain weight... The mother was quite small and thin herself, so eventually the conclusion was that the baby was small but healthy.

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There's a difference though if the baby has a formal diagnosis of Failure to Thrive - this diagnosis takes the range of development and factors such as family body shape into account and suggests that the child is not making the expected growth even taking these factors into account. Like Harpy, I'd be looking for a second opinion - and taking my nutritionist with me. There are a number of underlying medical conditions which can result in failure to thrive, and if the child is seeing a paediatrician that regularly, he should be having tests for these.

Your friend has my sympathy though - I'm sure the paediatrician thinks he/she has identified the cause of the child's problems, and could well not be looking beyond that. It's horrid to be made to feel guilty over something you know you are not causing.

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Ruby Rose

I'm sure the paediatrician thinks he/she has identified the cause of the child's problems, and could well not be looking beyond that.

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Yes, that's what I would be worried about as well, RR.

can she get any support from the vegan society in terms of proving that the vegan diet her child is getting is nutritionally balanced and therefore there must be some other reason that the child is not 'thriving'?

WonderWoman: did your friend ever look into the cause of her daughter not gaining weight? I hope the situation resolved itself :)