Vegan pregnancy

[cookey]

I craved eggs and so ate loads of tofu instead.
I got a new recipe book during my second pregnancy because I had to eat so much as I was exercising as well. I got bored with eating the same things. I also went through a period of not being able to face what I had the day before, so couldn't have leftovers!
Why not use this as an opportunity to get a few new books and try some different recipes?
Congratulations!

[Smoothie]

i know a vegetarian girl, who's pregnant, 19 years old. and she had a period of time where all she could eat was CANNED MEAT! eeew. but she stopped being vegetarian after that, as she thought it meant that she had to eat meat. and she's the kind of person who NEVER had any concerns about nutrition and health, so she knows nothing. that's stupid, as she don't care if the baby is healthy or not, she just figures that if she craves meat, she'll eat it.

but i really think you don't need to worry about what you ate - but focus on eating healthy, so you hopefully won't crave animal foods again! this forum is so wonderful to have so much information on nutrition, and health in general.
and you can't change what you did anyway. don't blame yourself, but enjoy your pregnancy and eat LOADS of nice, vegan foods

[LuC]

It looks like another vegan pregnancy! I am six weeks along and everything seems to be pretty good so far. We are very excited.

[Fekkler]

Congratulations!

The Fekkler

[LuC]

Congratulations!

The Fekkler

Thands Fekkler.

[screamingcarrot]

thanks for the words of wisdom and support.
we are now almost 13 weeks..happily most of my food aversions seem to have abated and i can drink soya milk and eat lentils again.though tofu is still off the menu! after a brief period of being very worried about craving animal products it seems ive found my old balance again, though i do need to get a b12 injection next week as it is a bit low. so im going to take it a day at a time.
luc, wait till you get your first ultrasound! it is so amazing!!!!!

[LuC]

Congratulations screamingcarrot! I’m glad to hear you are doing better. I have also heard of other pregnant women going through a very similar experience. It is just very important that your body gets all the mineral and nutrients that it requires.

I have been fortunate, so far, I have had absolutely no morning sickness or any food aversions of any kind. I haven’t even had any cravings. It’s funny but I think how abnormal! I also take 100% whole food first and second trimester vitamin and a b complex with Folic acid supplement. Visits to my naturopath have been extremely beneficial.

I’m nine weeks pregnant now and we have our first appointment with our midwife in a couple of weeks. I am also definitely looking forward to our first ultrasound. I’m definitely planning to maintain a vegan pregnancy, especially because everything seems to be progressing normally. Do you want to know whether you are having a boy or a girl?

[Linxie]

Can anyone clarify for me whether it is ok to have soya milk when you are pregnant? I am cooking for my friend on saturday who is 8 months pregnant. I plan to use soya milk in a sauce. But my other friend who is also pregnant has just told me that you can't have soya milk when you are pregnant?

[horselesspaul]

Can anyone clarify for me whether it is ok to have soya milk when you are pregnant? I am cooking for my friend on saturday who is 8 months pregnant. I plan to use soya milk in a sauce. But my other friend who is also pregnant has just told me that you can't have soya milk when you are pregnant?

As far as I am aware there could be nothing wrong with feeding your friend a meal containing soya milk unless she is specifically allergic, given the small amount of soya. If she is allergic then she will have almost certainly experienced a negative reaction to many foods since soya is added to a multitude of foodstuffs.
Recent studies do seem to have debunked the "soya is bad for pregnant women" claim but, as with all things, a diet concentrating too heavily on soya may not be beneficial to any of us.

[veganf]

I've had 4 vegan pregnancies, 4 homebirths, & 4 healthy babies! You don't need to do much differently than your usual vegan diet--a little more calories, iron, protein, water, and salt. Oh, and a bit extra rest!

[twinkle]

Just thought I'd bump this because I noticed two or three people say recently in various threads that they're expecting. Not that you have to post anything in here, if you preggers people see this, just thought it might be useful

[Ms_Derious]

Aww, thanks Twinkle.

Who else is pregnant then? I'm 35 Weeks now (gulp) so not long to go and then I'll be vegan and breastfeeding instead Interestingly, loads of people have asked me if breastfeeding is vegan?!? I wonder about omni logic at times.

[khadagan]

Aww, thanks Twinkle.

Who else is pregnant then? I'm 35 Weeks now (gulp) so not long to go and then I'll be vegan and breastfeeding instead Interestingly, loads of people have asked me if breastfeeding is vegan?!? I wonder about omni logic at times.

haha is breastfeeding vegan

I'm pregnant as well, but only bit more than 10 weeks, so it's early days for me. This is my second pregnancy. Is this your first?

[Ms_Derious]

haha is breastfeeding vegan

I'm pregnant as well, but only bit more than 10 weeks, so it's early days for me. This is my second pregnancy. Is this your first?

It's my first. It's ever-so exciting, packing the hospital bag today so we will be prepared.

We are planing for a hospital birth, but in a midwife led birthing centre, so they tend to use less interventions, and also going down the natural pain management only route. We are planning on using TENS in the early stages, followed up with a waterbirth. I'm also listening to natal hypnotherapy CDs.

[khadagan]

It's my first. It's ever-so exciting, packing the hospital bag today so we will be prepared.

We are planing for a hospital birth, but in a midwife led birthing centre, so they tend to use less interventions, and also going down the natural pain management only route. We are planning on using TENS in the early stages, followed up with a waterbirth. I'm also listening to natal hypnotherapy CDs.

So exciting! A first birth and also a natural one and a waterbirth! If I have any choice this time that's exactly how I would do it. My first pregnancy was very difficult and I had my daughter premature through an emergency C-section, I got extremely lucky with my daughter and it's a miracle she's here at all, especially in the healthy state that she is. Sometimes I can't wait to be as far along as you are, because chances are everything will be great. Waterbirths are great, they help with pain and are much more comfortable as I'm sure you know Such a natural way to have a baby. And it was so special when I held my daughter for the first time, I think having a child is one of the most amazing and life changing events one can experience. You and your life will never be the same again and you get so much in return for it. Anyway, blablabla, sorry for going on a bit. Good luck with the preparations, I'm sure everything will go just great, sounds like you're very prepared

[Ms_Derious]

I'm glad your daughter arrived healthy after all

C-sections etc are designed to help out with instances, like your first one, where children need that help. Sadly, because doctors are trained to look for where things are wrong I feel they are too quick to encourage a medical route. I think it's a little better in the UK because of the NHS, where it's not such a profit oriented business (though they still have their targets to meet!) so the more expensive interventions aren't offered without good cause.

My sister had a terrible time with her second child. He was induced, poorly, so she ended up having a very painful labour which culminated in an emergence c-section because my nephew was in distress. My sister then had terrible haemorrhaging, which was touch and go at points. This has made me more than a little sceptical of the wisdom of medical intervention when it's not 100% needed. I then looked into the effects of some of the pain management drugs, and realised I wasn't overly happy with the risks, so decided I'm going to try to get through with a little as I can. I will take 'gas and air' if it gets too painful to do without, but I want to avoid anything that goes into the blood stream as once it's in there, it's something you need to let wear off in it's own time.

I'm not utterly against medical science as part of the birthing process, sometimes it makes the difference between a healthy baby and no baby at all, but it should be there to help when it's needed, not as a matter of course. Women are birthing, they are not 'sick'

[khadagan]

I agree with what you're saying that doctors advice too quickly on c-sections, especially in the UK, where I had my daughter, am currently living in Canada, so will be interesting to compare. I'm Dutch by Nationality, there natural births and homebirths are very much the norm.

I can relate to what your sister went through, when they induce labour it sometimes doesn't go very smoothly. What makes it painful is what has to do with the blood-brain barrier, meaning the artificial medicins to give you contractions do not pass to your brain, so your brain doesn't get triggered to make any endorphines to make the experience more pleasant and less painful. If you have a natural birth you will create lots of lovely endorphines making the birth easier.

I definately feel the more natural the better, I've had some difficult experiences, but once my daughter was born the care she received was fantastic and I'm very very grateful. And I'm really not complaining about anything that happened because I've been so lucky overall and I've met a lot of women who were a lot less fortunate than I was. Because I pPROM-ed I am now considered high-risk and will be monitored more and also will be offered certain interventions, if everything goes fine in the end I'll definately be going towards the most natural approach, but we'll see.

I do love the choices you've made so far for your birthplan, I hope it will all go smoothly for you and chances are very much that will happen. From what I've often heard from other women who've given birth is that nature often takes over at some point, so even if you prepare a lot, somehow your body knows what to do as well.

[twinkle]

I guess here is a good place to tell the forum that I'm 22 weeks pregnant

Wanted to wait until after the 20 week scan to make as sure as possible that everything is okay, which it seems to be. Told my parents last weekend, and told enough people at work this week that hopefully gossip will do the rest of the job for me.

Haven't had any cravings yet apart wanting to eat cake and crisps, which I always want to eat anyway!

[khadagan]

Congrats!

Im only a few weeks further along than you are
With my daughter I had no cravings, with this one I'm eating mountains of oranges, ive had other cravings as well, but nothing as strong as the oranges, it's mad

[leedsveg]

Good wishes to you both, twinkle and khadagan.

leedsveg

[twinkle]

Thanks khadagan and leedsveg

khadagan, actually you've reminded me that I did go through a phase of eating a lot of mangoes earlier on. Looking forward to any updates you care to share

[cobweb]

twinkle!!!!!!!!
I am shocked, amazed, and very happy for you!

[sandra]

Congratulations Twinkle and Khadagan!

I remember I ate oranges by the bucket load when I was pregnant with my son.
With my daughter it was raw carrots.

[kikifromscotland]

Congratulations Twinkle and Khadagan!!

[cobweb]

yes, congrats to both of you!

[xwitchymagicx]

Hurray to babies!

Those cravings don't seem so bad, I've heard of people eating coal! lol

[MoonDance]

Awesome, congrats to both Twinkle and Khadagan! One of my friends at school is four? months pregnant (she's not vegan though) and she's had a lot of cravings, it's pretty funny Hope all goes well for the both of you.

[VeganZee]

Congratulations Twinkle and Khadagan. With my first daughter I craved cake (and still do!) with my second I just wanted carbohydrates in any form! Hope everything goes well for you both

[pusskins]

Congratulations, Twinkle and Khadagan! SO pleased for you both! x

[upior]

Congratulations to all pregnant women in this thread. Does any one know how Ms_derious is dping?How was the birth?
I hope she gave birth in water as intended.

[StaarGuitar]

I'm 39 weeks pregnant - any day now!!
And all along my husband (who is a carnivore) has been extremely supportive of my Veganism throughout the pregnancy despite DRs telling us that I need to eat dairy and meat etc.
It's so disappointing to see this backwards way of thinking and preaching is still going on!
I have yet to meet 1 medical professional who can tell me that being Vegan is ok.
Don't worry - Vegan is fine for me, my baby and for EVERYONE!

[khadagan]

Oh so soon! Good luck with the birth soon! I'm pregnant as well, but 28 weeks, so a bit to go for me hopefully. I have the same experience here with people wanting to send me to nutritionists because I was depriving myself so much being vegan! I'm currently in Canada, but I had my daughter in the UK and there were a lot more sympathetic doctors and midwifes out there. I don't know if I got lucky, but I never needed to explain myself there.

[Cherry]

Hello people.

So, Stu and I are having a baby, and I am suffering a lot with pregnancy sickness. I just read a very interesting article about severe pregnancy sickness being linked to a 'restricted diet', amongst other things (like genetics and allergies) . People Lactose intolerant and vegetarian were 7 or 8 times more likely to have severe pregnancy sickness (beyond the first trimester). One suggestion put forward was that those people may eat more soya, and that the phytoestrogens in the soya can affect HCG levels. So I was just wondering if other pregnant vegan ladies suffered a lot with pregnancy sickness? Does anyone have any tips? At the moment I'm on a grains, potato and fruit diet, as most things make me sick.

Here's the article:

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/ful...rchHistoryKey=

[harpy]

Congratulations, Cherry and Stu! Sorry to hear about the sickness - no suggestions from me I'm afraid but hope others can help.

[VeganZee]

Congratulations Cherry and Stu - that's fabulous news. Sorry to hear that you are suffering from really bad sickness. i never really thought about it, but during my first pregnancy when I was vegetarian I had very minimal sickness - just a couple of days. However, during my vegan pregnancy I was really sick. I was sick every single day usually multiple times right up until I was 20 weeks pregnant. I pretty much just ate crackers and toast a lot of the time. Sorry that I don't have any real concrete advice to give you - I just made sure I took my supplements and put up with it! Hopefully someone else will have some good suggestions

[Cherry]

Thanks Harpy and VeganZee

20 weeks!!!? Noooooooooooooooooo!

[VeganZee]

It was definitely 20 weeks because I was on my way to my twenty week scan the last time we had to pull the car over for me to be sick!

[Cherry]

I'm the driver, so that's something of a problem We're having our 20 week scan (and baby!) in Warwick so that's quite a long drive.
20 weeks isn't so bad I guess. My cousin had it all the way through. I'm still hoping it goes next week though as I'm back to work then :/

[khadagan]

Congrats on your pregnancy!

I only had a quick look at the study, I didn't see the word vegan, but maybe I missed it. Nausea during pregnancy is incredibly common, severe nausea as well, but not to the point where women need to be hospitalised, I think that was what the study was looking at? I really didn't read it in detail so apologies if I'm wrong. I had my second baby four weeks ago and am looking after him now, so am a bit busy and typing as quick as I can

Anyway, I had nausea pretty badly in the first trimesters, ate lots of crackers, ginger tea etc. Then for the rest of the pregnancies I also didn't feel so good for various reasons. I had lots of acid reflux, greasy foods and anything with wheat in it made it worse. I've actually heard for a lot of women that dairy and meat made them I'll, but I've also understood that it's a highly personal thing what you can and can't eat. In the last pregnancy I ate 4 or 5 oranges a day for about 6 months, in my first pregnancy I couldn't look at them. How you feel can differ lots per pregnancy. Overall I would say that for me pregnancy isn't the most fun experience and some illness is to be expected. I had serious problems in both my pregnancies where losing the baby were very real, I've been incredibly lucky and I don't mind any of the nausea or any other problem that doesn't hospitalise me or have the baby at risk. I hope the nausea isn't that bad for you and it's nothing more than an inconvenience at most. It will be well worth it when you have a healthy baby at the end of it.

[Cherry]

Absolutely Even if I felt like this for the rest of the pregnancy it would be worth it. The problem is that I can't be off sick for the rest of the pregnancy, so I am anxious to do everything I can that isn't a risk to my baby to make myself feel well enough to go to work, for the sake of my other 27 children! (I am a primary teacher.)

I'm 15 weeks so into second trimester and my doctor has diagnosed hyperemesis, which is what the study was looking at, but I'm not dehydrated enough to need a drip. You're right, the study did not mention vegans, just lactose intolerant people and vegetarians, who were both loads more likely to have hyperemesis lasting beyond the first trimester. I was interested to post on here and see if there was a link with veganism too. It is interesting that diet may be so important as it suggests that changing your diet (no, I don't mean becoming omnivorous! ) may help hyperemesis. I have decided to give up soya anyway, just to see if it makes a difference. Anything's worth a shot!

[khadagan]

You're still early in your pregnancy, so it might get better on it's own, fingers crossed! There is also anti nausea meds you can have prescribed, it was mentioned to me, but I never took them or looked into it. I know feeling sick and working is a horrible combo, but if it comes to it I know what I'd chose, pregnancies are sometimes just hard. In my first pregnancy I was too sick to continue work and I was on prescribed bedrest from week 21, so there was no choice there. I do hope it gets easier for you. I'm sure you know, but make sure you're drinking loads and eating regularly. I used to have crackers on the loo in the middle of the night as well so I wouldn't wake up nauseous. Ginger sweets helped as well. With some women the nausea resolves somewhere in the second trimester, maybe this is how it will be for you as well.

[Ms_Derious]

I had nausea in the first trimester, but was never actually sick. I've been vegetarian 17 years and vegan three, so I don't think it was a factor for me.

I found taking care not to let my blood sugar get too low really helped. That's why pregnancy sickness is worst in the morning, it's often triggered by low blood sugar levels.

[twinkle]

I had a stillbirth last Friday. I went into labour on Thursday night and everything was progressing perfectly normally, but then we couldn't find a heartbeat. I don't know what else to say at the moment, obviously the whole thing has been very upsetting and I'm still in a bit of a state.

[harpy]

I'm so sorry twinkle

[Johnstuff]

That's so sad, I'm so sorry for you Twinkle

[leedsveg]

So sorry Twinkle. My thoughts are with you.

Leedsveg

[Risker]

Really sad to hear that twinkle.

[missbettie]

oh Twinkle....so upsetting to hear that.....best of love to you. <3

[Cherry]

So so sorry xxx

[whalespace]

Twinkle love