Did your mom eat meat when pregnant with you?

[Apple_Blossem]

I was born to a meat eating family. I was born a pretty hard-headed anti-meat baby. My mom said it was always a fight to get me to eat meat... In short, I've always been almost completely vegetarian.

Finally, at 22, after watching the 10 minute documentary by Alec Baldwin "Meet Your Meat" - (watch out, this is graphic non-edited factory farming footage!) http://www.meat.org - I went completely vegetarian. I'm almost vegan now. I LOVE spinich in all forms.

My mom says it doesnt surprise her because the moment she became pregnant with me, she could not get herself to eat meat. Being a very responsible mother, she was terrified that she was not getting enough protein for the growing baby - but, no matter what, for some reason inside of her, eating an animal was out of the question. So she made herself eat eggs to compensate. She craved spinish salads and ate one every day. A few months after she gave birth to me, she went back to meat-eating as usual.

She has always thought that she was influenced by the "double aura" - the baby within her had a very strong soul --I REFUSED to eat meat. I HATE to be around it. I've read several books on this, and there are people who notice that some sensitive mothers (and my mom is as sensitive as they come!) adopt certain personality traits of the baby they are carrying. So maybe she was influenced by my aversion to meat as well.

Now, the question: For those of you who have always fought the eating of animals since childhood, did your mothers ever mention that they had an aversion to eating an animal when pregant with you? Or being sensitive towards animal suffering or something?

What did your mother crave? What would they refuse to eat?

[twinkle]

I believe my mum was on a vegetarian diet prescribed by her doctor when she was pregnant with me She also started me off on a vegetarian diet, though I did start eating meat after the age of one or so, I believe. Fortunately I decided I wanted to go vegetarian again very young, I think I had about 5 years of my life where I ate meat and fish.

[paulvegan]

as far as i know my mum eat meat.

[twinkle]

Sorry, I've realised that the above post makes me look really smug

I didn't mean to be!

[Cherry]

My mum had terrible morning sickness and didn't eat much at all by the sound of it. Maybe that was my aversion to the world Only joking.

I like your theory Apple Blossom. I suppose the food preference thing could be the baby influencing the mother as you say, or maybe the mother influencing the baby's preferences in utero with her funny pregnancy food cravings, or maybe through breast feeding, or maybe by giving the baby the same foods when it's weaned?

I think it's cool when people naturally rejected meat at a young age, like Twinkle You must have been very strong in your beliefs to convince your parents. I wish I'd been able to make decisions like that at that age.

I also think it's cool that people who have enjoyed meat all their lives and come from meat-loving families suddenly get an epiphany when they're older and become vegetarian/vegan.

I'm somewhere in between. I rejected meat even as a baby, but then I don't know if that's my 'vegan aura' or because it's weird chewy stuff! Yuck. I never really liked meat and remember numerous dinner time traumas with my parents, but didn't give it up entirely until I was 16.

[puffin]

My mum has always eaten meat. She doesnt want to hear the sad truth but i tell her anyway. It hasent stopped her though.

[fiamma]

I suppose the food preference thing could be the baby influencing the mother as you say, or maybe the mother influencing the baby's preferences in utero with her funny pregnancy food cravings

Sorry, this is going off at a slight tangent, but I've just finished reading "We Need to Talk About Kevin" (a very powerful, and I suppose controversial book) in which a mother never wanted her child, even before his conception and extending into adolescence, where the book ends. The boy then goes on to kill some of his classmates. The core message of the book is "nature vs.nuture", and the mother wonders constantly whether her non-acceptance of the child ultimately had to do with what he did. If her feelings did affect the child this way (the question is left open in the book) then I suppose this might extend to any mother's food choices when the baby is in-utero.
Myself, although I never wanted to go veggie at a young age, I never remember particularly liking meat.

[Cherry]

Gosh, well not being wanted by your mother could seriously do some damage. Of course you'd do more damage reacting negatively to an older child. Having said that I'm sure that babies can tell if their mums are happy or upset or whatever by their heart beats, hormones etc... , but not sure if that would have a huge effect in later life if they have a totally nice childhood.

I wonder if there's a particular distinctly spinachy chemical that can be passed to the foetus?! I always thought that before being absorbed into the blood that the foods are so broken down into their constituents, and that the constituents are so universal, that you couldn't tell what someone had been eating by taking a blood sample. Maybe in actual fact the foetus is sitting there thinking, 'mmm, nice spinach sandwich Mum'

[treehugga]

My mother ate meat and was severly iron deficient and had to have iron injections throughout her pregnancy.

I didn't consume meat when pregnant and my iron levels contiued to be good all the way through.

[dada]

most definitely. i was born to a meat-eating family.
she also ate lots black sesame soupie sweet desert kinda thing.

[Apple_Blossem]

There is a downloadable movie by a biologist who shows how important nurture (home/public environment) is verses nature (genetics). It shows how important a calm environment is to a baby in the womb.

In one test, they use a sonogram on the mother's stomach while she is having an argument with her husband. It was disturbingly sad: each time the father yelled or raised his voice, the mother's adrenaline rushed - causing the baby to litterly jump and flale about in the womb. It looked like the baby was being beaten up in the womb - and if the baby had been able to breath - it looked like it would have been crying because of the huge amount of adrenaline being pumped into its body making it throw itself about. The baby is directly affected by how much adrenaline is being pumped through her body.

Although I do not call myself a Christian, I often think about how Mary went to live in the mountains when she found out she was pregnant with Jesus - where it is calm and peaceful and away from society.

As for blood tests showing what we eat: When I was 7, I was at a naturopath's office and I had to take a "finger prick" blood test. The moment he looked at the blood under the microscope, he cheerily said, 'You ate potato chips for breakfast, didn't you?" And I had. He showed me how he could see any type of food I had eaten as soon as it entered the bloodstream and how ever drop of blood contains the particles of (very) broken down food floating about.

There's a free video called "A Diet for all reasons" by Dr. Michael Klapper. It is 10 minutes long and shows how our food affects our blood (especially meat and dairy): http://www.movieflix.com/movie_info.mfx?movie_id=2044

[Cherry]

As for blood tests showing what we eat: When I was 7, I was at a naturopath's office and I had to take a "finger prick" blood test. The moment he looked at the blood under the microscope, he cheerily said, 'You ate potato chips for breakfast, didn't you?" And I had. He showed me how he could see any type of food I had eaten as soon as it entered the bloodstream and how ever drop of blood contains the particles of (very) broken down food floating about.

Cooooooooooool That's really groovy. I would have expected it just to be molecules of carbohydrate, fat and so on. It does seem more likely to me then that what the mother eats during pregnancy very much influences the baby's food preferences later on, as that's what they'll be 'used to'. I heard that babies learn to recognise the sounds of their parents voices in utero, and that if you play them a particular piece of music in the womb that it calms them if you place it when they've been born

[maya]

Oh yeah my mom and her White castles burgers. Ick! My mom is one of those ..WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT EAT MEAT PEOPLE.

[VeganJohn]

Yes, my mother most certainly did eat meat whilst she was pregant. I blame her for me being such a nutcase

[Apple_Blossem]

I've read on medical sites that if a mother drinks during the pregnancy, that baby is about 60% more likely to have an addiction the taste of alochol... and if she does drugs during the pregnancy, the baby has a 50% chance of easily getting addicted to the drug.

Yes, pregnancy is such an important time for the baby.

[VeganJohn]

I know she didn't drink. I have heard that a mother's stress levels can have serious effect on the developing baby, more than alcohol even.

Don't think she was stressed either.

[kriz]

My mom says she was eating TONS of sour green apples, and would go any distance to get them. What that says about my vegetarianism, I don't know.... I'm a "green apple girl".

[VeganJohn]

Apparently when my mum was pregnant she used to eat and drink anything with lemons in.

I actually don't really like lemony stuff, except for Cheery lemon cake of course :>

[piggy]

my mom ate an almost only vegetarian diet when she was pregnant with me..for financial reasons. she always says that's why i became a veggie

[kriz]

I still believe I was BORN a vegetarian, but could not do much about it before I could think and speak "clearly"

[Klutz]

My mother lived on pickles while pregnant with me. She ate huge mason jars of them every day. She tried to can her own but couldn't keep up with her pickle appetite.

I loathe pickles to the point where if they are on my plate, I will not touch ANYTHING on my plate for fear of pickle contamination and I've been that way my whole life. Looking at a pickle turns my stomach and smelling them makes me want to puke.

But, yes, I'm sure she ate meat. Probably not that much as my parents really didn't have that much money back then. I can remember when I was young that meat was a "special treat" due to the cost. However, much to my shame, I LOVED meat and wanted to eat it exclusively. I hated vegetables. My sister and I used to trade our meat and veggies with each other when our parents weren't looking. Now, she's the big meat eater and here I am a vegan.

By the way, Twinkle, your story is another chapter in the book of why pregnancy freaks me out. Not only is a little person living in there, but that little person could actually dictate food preferences of the host? Jeesh...what if I were pregnant and the baby wanted meat!?!? Horrifying. I mean, it's cool that back in your unborn days you were able to stop your mom from eating meat...that part is really cool. But what if it were the other way around? That's what creeps me out.

[Haniska]

I hear a lot about vegan mothers who craved meat. They just upped their intake of protein, fat or iron and it went away. Myself if I go too long without eating I might crave meat. I think that my body says "Well, if there isn't any vegetables around, then how about meat? Is there any meat?"

[sugarmouse]

I didnt know this untl my mother came online last night and I asked her,but apparently when she was pregnant with me,she couldnt eat meat at all it made her feel sick.And my mother is a total omnivore.she is one of those annoying folk who says 'well,I dont eat MUCH meat' but she does she eats as much as the next person.

[treehugga]

Apologies for getting off the 'meat' track a little.

I was in a domestic violence relationship while pregnant with my eldest son - lots of trauma and yelling

I feel a lot of guilt about that.

I have seen neurological scans of infants brains and the differences b/n normal and ones with violent parents and it's frightening.

My son is an incredibly beautiful, intelligent,calm person despite this - thank god.

However, I'm ever so damaged with guilt of what he went through!

[treehugga]

I didnt know this untl my mother came online last night and I asked her,but apparently when she was pregnant with me,she couldnt eat meat at all it made her feel sick.And my mother is a total omnivore.she is one of those annoying folk who says 'well,I dont eat MUCH meat' but she does she eats as much as the next person.

My mother says that too. It is really annoying.

[Tigress]

I was born into a vegetarian family. My parents had been vegetarian for many years before they had me (hippies) and I have never eaten meat.

I don't want children, but if I did they would be raised vegan and I would hope its a way of life they would continue throughout their life and pass on to the next generation.

[sandra]

Hi Klutz, I don't think you need to worry about the unborn baby making you eat stuff you don't want to. You don't lose your own identity when you are pregnant. I think if a vegan craves meat when they are pregnant they probably crave it even when they aren't. I know the two times I have been pregnant I craved things, but only things I would normally eat anyway like oranges and iced water.
I know my mother started to eat tiny pieces of coal when she was pregnant with me, which is a bit strange!

[psychocandy]

Sandra-i've heard of people eating coal but wasnt tempted myself
When i was pregnant i had certain cravings but it was for things i would usually eat only occassionally i would have cravings for. I cant believe when ive heard of people who have not ate meat for years or whatever suddenly get cravings for it and cave in. i was actually asked when i was pregnant if i had any meat cravings yet. i never got meat cravings anyway but if i was pregnant again and it ever happened i just would not do it! i love my food anyway so would just eat something else vegan.

[sandra]

Yes, you're right, psychocandy, I just couldn't comprehend any circumstances where I would want to eat meat, I'd rather die, I know that sounds melodramatic but it's true.
I went off drinking coffee of all things when I was pregnant, and I LOVE coffee. Did you go off any thing that you usually liked?

[psychocandy]

I'm the same i just could never do it! I went off soya cheese (cheezly) and its my fave i love cheezly sandwiches just looking at it in the fridge made me feel ill. i dont think there was anything else. i was hooked on eating strawberries which i only ate ocassionally before i would take a huge box to work and eat all day! i think ive only ate them once since then!

[sandra]

Hi again, I have tried the smoked cheezly, but I didn't like it, is the ordinary cheezly nice?

[psychocandy]

Hi Sandra, I havent had the smoky cheezly before just the mozarella type, garlic one and the white cheddar one. i like the white cheddar one best for sandwiches and on crackers.

[foxytina_69]

my friend couldnt eat meat whilst pregnant with her baby.

im not sure what my mom ate while pregnant with me. she craved one thing with each of us 3 kids though. ill have to ask my sister what they were. i know that for my oldest sister, they were grape milkshakes. they were all she would eat.

[Tigerlily]

I'm sure she did eat meat but she's not a huge meat eater in the first place. She told me when I was a baby, I wasn't very fond of meat.