Vegan pregnancy

[drummer]

Hello everyone, I might be pregnant, hoorah!
I know to avoid animal products, but can anyone think of other things which are dangerous for pregnancy? I was told not to take aspirin, too. If anyone else knows what kind of foods and what kind of other things might be good for the baby I am interested in that, too. I don't know if my drumming will be good for the baby, it's like exercise and very loud.
If anyone else has questions about pregnancy please post them here.

[Artichoke47]

You're supposed to avoid too much caffeine, too!

Congrats! Are you going to talk to a doctor, too, or read books to help you out?

[Korn]

Hello everyone, I might be pregnant, hoorah!
I know to avoid animal products, but can anyone think of other things which are dangerous for pregnancy? I was told not to take aspirin, too. If anyone else knows what kind of foods and what kind of other things might be good for the baby I am interested in that, too. I don't know if my drumming will be good for the baby, it's like exercise and very loud.
If anyone else has questions about pregnancy please post them here.

Congratulations! You might find some useful info here.

I'm sure good music is good for an unborn baby, I would be careful with loud noises of any kind if I were pregnant - but that's easy for me to say, being a man. .

[feline01]

Congratulations. I had a very successful vegan pregnancy carrying twins who are 9 months now. Once you determine you are definitely pregnant, I think the most important thing is making sure you have an ob/gyn who supports a vegan pregnancy. Mine wasn't vegan but he recognized it a woman can have a healthy vegan pregnancy/baby(ies). I did meet with a nutritionist but only after I found out I was carrying twins. I avoided all artificial colors/sweeteners/flavors and really anything that was too overly processed. I didn't take any medications during my pregnancy, just a vegan prenatal and I use Traditional Medicine's Pregnancy Tea. Ginger was great for morning sickness, either ginger tea or if I was travelling, I had organic ginger lozenges. There's some great books out there like Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina and Raising Vegan Children in a Non-Vegan World by Erin Pavlina. Her website, www.vegfamily.com is a great resource for expecting parents and parents.

[Mystic]

I think that raw sprouts can be harmful - I only heard that, so you may want to check that out. Also, don't eat from salad bars coz they contain lots of bacteria that can be harmful to a baby. Make sure you are getting enough nutrients CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

[feline01]

Oh yeah, you're right banana. Raw sprouts sometimes are contaminated with e-coli which can cause a spontaneous abortion. Try to eat organic as much as possible as well.

[Wildflower]

yes, my mom and I got food poisoning from sprouts on a ferry in Seattle. She more than me acutally, I don't like sprouts and I picked them off. I had a tummy ache, but she was yaking, diarhea, etc. We saw on the news about the contaminated sprout incident and put 2 and 2 together.

Things they say to avoid -

unpasterized foods or raw foods
caffeine
cigarettes and alcohol (duh)
artificial sweetners (splenda, nutrasweet)
too much vitamin A can cause birth defects (apricots, carrots, etc)
i read the other day that peanuts should be avoided in the 2 and 3 trimester because it can cause a nut allergy for your baby. I am not sure i believe this...but i'll pass it on.
all medicines but tylanol (i would avoid all personally), some herb/vitamin supplements (use common sense)

get a good prenatal vitamin from your Dr.

start taking folic acid (folate) right away - this has been proven to prevent nural tube defects when in the first few weeks after conception. it is in oj, ww bread and green leafy veggies and will be in your prenatal vitamin

Congrats!

Oh, and felines right, www.vegfamily.com is great - 100% vegan and even has birth stories!

ask the dietician on pregnancy nutrition - > http://www.vegfamily.com/dietician/0205a.htm

[Tofu Monster]

it has been scientifically proven* that it is highly dangerous to expose unborn children to hip hop music. not only can this cause stunted mental development in the womb, but in later life it can cause the afflicted child to wear vulgar jewellery, burberry baseball caps and say things like 'proper good'. don't take any chances; stick to good old fashioned rock music and you should produce a healthy well-adjusted child.







*probably

[cedarblue]

it has been scientifically proven* that it is highly dangerous to expose unborn children to hip hop music. not only can this cause stunted mental development in the womb, but in later life it can cause the afflicted child to wear vulgar jewellery, burberry baseball caps and say things like 'proper good'. don't take any chances; stick to good old fashioned rock music and you should produce a healthy well-adjusted child.







*probably

heh heh

also avoid the use of essential oils especially in the first trimester, then lavender is good for relaxing in a burner or diluted in base oil for massage.

[gertvegan]

Hello everyone, I might be pregnant, hoorah!

Check out the VEGAN SOCIETY and THIS thread.

Congrats!

[feline01]

heh heh

also avoid the use of essential oils especially in the first trimester, then lavender is good for relaxing in a burner or diluted in base oil for massage.

I think I remember reading that lavender can bring on labor, I'd check that out first before using it. There are many herbs/oils that can bring on abortion or labor to if you plan on using them, do research first.

I'll let you know if eating peanuts causes allergies in children since I ate peanut butter throughout my pregnancy. We'll see if my kids end up with an allergy once they are old enough to eat it.

Oh, and my birth story is on vegfamily already, here it is if you're interested .

[Kevster]

You can do loads of exercise when pregnant, i've seen fit to bursting women down the gym, tho you have to be a little careful, and best to get the latest ideas.

[Poison Ivy]

I'll let you know if eating peanuts causes allergies in children since I ate peanut butter throughout my pregnancy. We'll see if my kids end up with an allergy once they are old enough to eat it.

I ate peanut butter through both of my pregnancies and neither of my two have ended up with a peanut allergy - my daughter absolutely loves the stuff - but I did wait until both kids were about 12 months old before letting them try any

[Aurora]

Like it Tofu! Actually I work in a college where 80% of the students probably had mums who listened to hip hop!

vegan_drummer congratulations!

When I did my Aromatherapy qualification we learned that there were many oils not to be used.

As taken from my notes:-

Oils to avoid during pregnancy

Basil, cinnamon, clary sage, cypress, fennel, jasmine, juniper, marjoram, myrrh, origanum, peppermint, rose, rosemary, sage or thyme. In fact the only oils recommended are lavender and mandarin and then not mandarin if you are going out into the sunshine (it contains a photosensitising chemical that can leave skin permanently blotchy or even leave you wide open to skin cancer). No oils to be used in the first 3 months of pregnancy.

Aurora xx

[drummer]

Thanks everyone! I do not listen to hip hop, mostly 70s Rock, I drum but have been advised to avoid drumming on my kit a 7 months because its too loud. I am allowed to practice on my pratice pad, though. Like other music, too, blues, classical, but NOT top 40, country, hip hop. Just found out Pennyroyal is a no-no.
With these oils, does it mean I can't eat the plants, either? I've got some organic home-grown basil I don't want to waste.
I am living in a redneck area where people do not know what the word organic means. It is 300km drive to get anything organic, I want to eat organic fruit and veg, but it's just too far to go - plus my car is 40 years old and it costs me $80 in petrol to get to where I need to! I need a new car - 1964 is over now and driving this car is too expensive. Anyway, I am moving to Melbourne soon, I'll be able to get organic food there.

[Mystic]

So you are pregnant?

[PinkFluffyCloud]

Oh yeah, you're right banana. Raw sprouts sometimes are contaminated with e-coli which can cause a spontaneous abortion. Try to eat organic as much as possible as well.

I didn't know about that! I eat LOADS! Recently, though, I suspected thay had caused me an upset tummy a couple of times! I will have to take care!

Anyway, Drummer, I would say keep active (within reason), I was very active all through, and I am sure it's why I had a short (6-hour) labour, no drugs, and no stitches!

You need Folic Acid, too, for the baby.

Best of luck!

[PinkFluffyCloud]

My baby loved music in the womb, but hated me shouting, it used to frighten him! When I was heavily pregnant, I looked after my friends Horses for a few weeks. Two of them, called 'Dan', and 'Stan', kept fighting at feed time. I have a very loud voice when I shout, and I kept yelling "Dan, Stan, Paaaaack it in!!!!!!!".

Poor baby, he used to roll around, trying to find an escape, I think!!

[veganblue]

Congratulations! I have an informative pdf on vegan diets for children from the American Dietic Association. It is a very positive and supportive article and has some good guidelines and suggestions. If you or anyone wants it PM me and I will attach it with an email.

[Mystic]

I am small - I am not sure what I weigh, probably under 45 kg. I used to have anorexia, but not anymore. I am physically very healthy, besides the hypoglycemia, which I developed from the anorexia.

My concern is, that I want to get pregnant next year. I know that it is a while off, but I am worried that I am too small? My Mum was very small, probably the same size as me, and she had to have IVF treatment.

If my weight does need to be addressed, I already eat really well, and I am not sure what else I could do about my weight, without stuffing my gob full of cake! I am allergic to nuts, and I already eat lots of avocado, flaxseed oil and olive oil.

Any knowledge or opinions on this matter?

[Mystic]

LOL Korn - I just saw what you wrote about my name

[Gorilla]

are your periods regular Banana? i have read that having a low weight can affect the body's fertility and cause your periods to stop.

[ConsciousCuisine]

Are you changing your name, luv?

You can certainly use more calories, Banana. In order to know how many, I would need to know your weight, height and activity level. That being said, I have seen young teens who weighed 85 pounds become pregnant and give birth to healthy (but small) babies.

[Mystic]

I have been on birth control for 6 years and have always had 'periods' - since I have been well nouriished and free of any ED, these periods have become notoriously painful and heavier, so I am thinking that they are genuine.

[Mystic]

Are you changing your name, luv?

You can certainly use more calories, Banana. In order to know how many, I would need to know your weight, height and activity level. That being said, I have seen young teens who weighed 85 pounds become pregnant and give birth to healthy (but small) babies.

BTW, I am not changing my name

I am 162cm tall, I weigh probably 43kg, give or take a couple of kilos, and I walk my dog every day for around 1/2 hour. I work as a check out chick at a supermarket 3 days per week. Other then that I don't really exercise

[Nivvie]

Lots of tiny women concieve.
The clues come from your cycle as to whether or not things are working well, and if you're worried, get an ovulation kit now and see if you're doing it.

Of course, there are still a ton of other factors, like having a womb with an inhospitable ph, your partner's fertility etc that that crop up without you even knowing, so even if the test works, don't count your, er, babies before they're hatched.

The fertility of your mother is also not necessarily linked to yours.
My mother hasn't had half the problems I have, instead, hers were fewer but worse, and it was actually going vegan that sorted my cycle out, and therefore, my ovulation.

If you are not ovulating you can just be given medication to help with that, and there are also certain foods that help promote ovulation, even carrots, and if you look online you'll find a ton of stuff about herbs that help. There are lots of positive reports out there about supplements and teas.

Caffiene has a MASSIVELY bad effect on fertility. That's your demon to avoid.
That and ibruprofen.

If you're not ovulating, try herbal and diet routes beofre thinking about IVF, as it's still a problem that needs to be sorted, as whether or not you want children, it shows your body is lacking something.

Good luck!

[Mystic]

My boyfriend is concerned that if I miscarry I will blame myself for being too skinny and I will get depressed - which will lead to more weight loss....

[Nivvie]

Worrying about miscarriage can cause miscarriage!

Miscarriage happens in one in three pregnancies, often before the mother knows she was ever pregnant, and it's most commonly due to a serious defect or serious deficiancy.
Although, babies are tough and will take from your body before they suffer. There used to be an old saying about how each baby costs a tooth, as women way back would lose their teeth from calcium defiencies. if you eat enough vitamins your baby will not suffer. Look at all the women who live off McD's, smoke and drink and still manage to give birth. Their children may have problems they needn't have, but many of them survive.

Stress is a huge factor in fertility health and preganacy.
Do some yoga, get a zen garden, anything you want to relax.
Babies, and ovaries, hate stress hormones.

I knew a woman who tried for a baby for five years, so they adopted a child. A year later she was prenant with triplets, just because she'd stopped fretting all the time.

[ConsciousCuisine]

BTW, I am not changing my name

I am 162cm tall, I weigh probably 43kg, give or take a couple of kilos, and I walk my dog every day for around 1/2 hour. I work as a check out chick at a supermarket 3 days per week. Other then that I don't really exercise

Keeping in mind that everyone's body type and composition is unique, you are likely underweight and eating too few calories. This could negatively impact your chances of conceiving and sustaining a viable pregnancy (or it could not!).

According to US standards, which are by no means individualized, you could beas much as 15-20 pounds underweight. People who are in that category conceive and give birth everyday! Is it ideal? Perhaps not.

I feel a bigger concern would be getting off the hormone-altering medication you take and allowing for your body to reinstate and then regulate your own natural rhythms for itself. Sometimes women have difficulty conceiving after extended birth control use, sometimes they don't.

Your babies will be GORGEOUS, Banana!

[Mystic]

Thanks for all your input everyone. I will take these considerations on board. I just am not sure how to pack in more calories without stuffing myself. Oh well Shame, I have to eat cake

[feline01]

Make sure you eat foods high in folic acid now as well. Birth defects can be prevented by the intake of folic acid during and before pregnancy. Foods like spinach, beans, fortified orange juice, dark leafy greens.

Good luck to you, banana

[Wildflower]

Congrats Banana! What exciting news!

Have you talked to a Dr or midwife about this? Now is the time to start prenatal vitamins and stop taking the pill in preperation.

I think as long as you are ovulating and healthy, weight is not as important as if you are eating enough and eating healthy. But I could be wrong...

Find a midwife/Dr and talk to them about it. you are very smart planning a year ahead, and if they think you should gain weight, maybe adding some extra pasta or beans to your diet for calories would help. They are very calorie dense, as is oil, but you said you try to eat that. I would focus on extra calories, not just extra fat.

If you have trouble eating, there is always juice. that is loaded with calories and for the most part very healthy.

Maybe you could see a nutritionist who specializes in such things?

Have you seen this website -> www.vegfamily.com It is all about vegan pregnancy/rasiing a vegan family and has a lot of resources. Plus, you can post your vegan pregnancy/birth stories for others to read, which I find very helpful to alleviate my worries (not that I am pregnant, but hopefully will be one day). I believe feline01's birth story is on there.

[littleTigercub]

I had an anorexic colleague who conceived *while* having anorexia, and although the midwife had predicted a complicated birth, it all went fine.

Victoria Beckham is also really skinny and had three healthy kids!

A healthy, normal weight is obviously the best but I guess, when it comes to having a baby, too light is better than too heavy.

Did you discuss this with your GP?

LittleTigercub

[ConsciousCuisine]

A healthy, normal weight is obviously the best but I guess, when it comes to having a baby, too light is better than too heavy.
LittleTigercub

As a Doula and licensed Holistic Health Practitioner who specializes in working with pregnant women and families, I am just curious as to your source for this ^^ about being underweight being 'better' than being 'too heavy' for a healthy baby and pregnancy.

[littleTigercub]

Do you disagree?

littleTigercub

[Nivvie]

I have done VERY little work nursing-wise with pregnant women, but a fair amount in gynae, and both underweight and overweight are bad.

However, from the baby's point of view, underweight mothers tend to have babies of lower birth weight, so for the baby it's better, although the overweight mothers seem to often take longer to get back to full mobility and fitness.

Underweight mothers set off alarm bells with midwives as it can be a sign of malnutrition complications, but a chubby mummy will attract little attention, as a little preganacy flab is normal.

The human body often stop both overweight and underweight women from conceiving, but this is much more common in underweight women.

None of these are set in stone and there are exceptions to every rule.

[Stormypagan]

I thought I couldn't have children due to irregular periods etc and talk of polycyistic ovaries blah blah. Also we weren't really into the idea of having children. Then one day to my partner, at the time, and my surprise I found out I was pregnant. Shock and horror followed by wow this is amazing!!

But sadly, I lost her due to being born too premature, which at the time I was told was due to me not being able to carry a child to full term without a stitch (nothing to do with wieght, diet etc..). Have to say she made me realise how much I wanted to be a mum :0)

Then I fell pregnant again really quickly, and after having a stitch in my cervix <OUCH!!> I gave birth to Lewis in October 1998, at a healthy 8 lbs and 3 ozs, adored by to very proud vegan parents. A happy healthy life time vegan since the day he was concieved :0)

And now I am preggers again with my new partner, this time they haven't put a stitch in, as they aren't convinced that was the problem the first time around. Scary times at the moment as I am always aware of what happened with my first baby but I have regular checkups and so far so good :0) at 23 weeks :0)

So I guess what I am trying to say here is that don't ever give up on the idea of becoming pregnant, especially when you have had past health problems. Just try to be emotionally and physically healthy, and see what happens :0) every person is different and every pregnancy is different :0)

Good luck Banana - may you be blessed :0)

Love and light
Xxxx Stormy xxxX

[catmogg]

Worrying about miscarriage can cause miscarriage!

Miscarriage happens in one in three pregnancies, often before the mother knows she was ever pregnant, and it's most commonly due to a serious defect or serious deficiancy.
Although, babies are tough and will take from your body before they suffer. There used to be an old saying about how each baby costs a tooth, as women way back would lose their teeth from calcium defiencies. if you eat enough vitamins your baby will not suffer. Look at all the women who live off McD's, smoke and drink and still manage to give birth. Their children may have problems they needn't have, but many of them survive.

Stress is a huge factor in fertility health and preganacy.
Do some yoga, get a zen garden, anything you want to relax.
Babies, and ovaries, hate stress hormones.

I knew a woman who tried for a baby for five years, so they adopted a child. A year later she was prenant with triplets, just because she'd stopped fretting all the time.

Nivvie, can a woman have a miscarriage and not know??? that's a genuine q, by the way. I just wondered??

[Wildflower]

I am not a healthcare practicioner, but I was always told that most women will experience 1 miscarriage in their lifetime they don't know about. It just happens very early and comes across as a heavy period, or sometimes no signs at all.

[catmogg]

How many weeks??

[catmogg]

Sorry, to clarify, i was wondering how many weeks would be an early miscarriage, would you know at say, 8 weeks??

[Tofu Monster]

My concern is, that I want to get pregnant next year.

in that case i suggest you start shagging like bunnies at midnight on 1st January and don't stop till you've got one in the oven. hope that helps.

[DianeVegan]

According to research (how accurate, I don't know) almost half of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, usually before the woman even knows she is pregnant. We learned this in nursing school and I have read it since then.

So I guess you should always shag like bunnies, as suggested by Tofu, just in case. Of course you should stop at 1.3 children, but that is a whole other thread.

[Wildflower]

http://www.umm.edu/pregnancy/stayhea...scarriage.html

An early miscarriage is catagorized here as anything before 20 weeks. They estimate 30% of women have one of these at some point.

Early Miscarriage
An early miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of pregnancy during the first 20 weeks of gestation. It can also be called a spontaneous abortion
Early miscarriage is very common. As many as 30% of women will experience one, usually before they even miss a period, or realize they are pregnant. Most early miscarriages are a result of a developing fetus that is unhealthy and has little chance of surviving to the end of pregnancy.

[Stormypagan]

When I lost my daughter at 22 weeks they termed it as a miscarriage due to being under the legal gestation age (24 weeks then, not sure if this has changed) for being able to try saving them through incubation etc.. I personally don't think this is a good term for such a late loss, as it dosen't respect what women go through when losing a baby as late as I did.

I basically gave birth normally and held my baby while she died, as the health authorities wouldn't do anything to save her. After all the years I have spent fighting for the right of non-human animals and human animals I couldn't do anything for my own daughter. It is only now that I see that she would have been severely disabled and may have not survived anyway, so in a world that barily caters for basic human rights I wouldn't have liked to put her through a life time of how she probably would of been treated by general society due to her possible disabliities. I hope that made sense.

My ideas of miscarriage prior to this had always been the idea of losing a lot of blood and having a heavy period. At the end of the day it is all very painful for a women losing a child at any gestation.

In answer to catmoggs question, I think women can have miscarriages and not know if it is an early one in the first two months. After this it will be more evident, as at 12 weeks pregnant the baby will be 2-3 inches long and therefore visible to the naked eye.

I hope that none of you ever have to go through losing a baby, and my heart goes out to those who have xx

Love and light
Xxxx Stormy xxxX

[coney]

I'm expecting (my first) and wanted to ask if anyone's got advice for high energy foods, high protien/calcium foods (so I can avoid dairy and eggs as much as I can, to the shock of my omni family), or any books that would be helpful.

Any "when I was pregnant" stuff would be fantastic. I'm operating all on advice and previous experiences of other people at the moment.

Thanks!

[VeganMata]

i lived off os spinach wile preggo.. i was craving it all the time..and lots of beans too. i tried ot avoid soy most og the pregnancy.
i have a bucnh of books and websites thetll be helpful. ill be back later with those for you. one i can think of off the top of my head is www.mothering.com and www. mothering.com/discussions go down to the vegan forum and also check out the pregnancy forum. not everyone there is vegan but there are a few of us around there to help you out!!
also check out the breastfeeding ofrum there ot get ready for that when your baby is born. the more you know now the smoother it will go for you!!!
be back in a bit with more info

[Wildflower]

veganmata - that is a beautiful picture you have as your avatar!

coney - congrats on your pregnancy!

Have you checked out www.vegfamily.com ? it is a vegan parenting site with nutrition advice, pregancy/birth stories, etc. as well as a vegan pregnancy forum http://vegfamily.com/forums/

[screamingcarrot]

I hope im not going to be judged too harshly for this, but i have always felt that i could be honest and express my opinions on this site, so why stop now.
i am about 11 weeks pregnant (yay!!!) my husband and i are thrilled..i have been a vegan and an animal rights campaigner for years. i travelled all over the world and never ate animal products (at leats not to the best of my knowledge) which was hard in eastern europe as some of you will know!

before i was pregnnat i told my body what to eat. Now i feel as though my body has rebelled and taken control of my mind, i cant face eating any soy products and the thought of lentils makes me want to spew (everything does at the moment..damn morning sickness!). on top of this i found i could only eat very small amounts of food at a time without throwing up..i was rapidly losing weight and knew i needed to find something i could eat, that was concentraed in energy, fast.

so i ate some animal products. now i feel terrible but i feel powerless as i still cant face all my vegan favourites. has anyone else been through this? any advice? i feel i am going against every moral fibre in my mind but my body is very clear about what it does and doesnt want.

please dont judge me too harshly. any constructive advice appreciated.

[Fekkler]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I have heard similar stories before. Supposedly it is because your body needs a certain nutrient and it remembers where you have gotten that nutrient before. So if you have never exposed your body to a plant source of that nutrient it will crave for an animal source. At least it sounds logical to me.

Hope that helps.

The Fekkler