Most women are concerned about their diet during pregnancy. For women with a vegan diet – one that omits ALL foods of animal origin – consuming adequate nutrients for themselves and their growing babies can be a challenge. Women who eat a diet that includes meat and dairy foods easily get the extra protein they need during pregnancy.
Vegans need to be sure to include soy products, which provide high quality protein along with calcium, another critical nutrient during pregnancy (Drake, 1998). Calcium is a concern because vegans don’t consume dairy products, the primary source of calcium in traditional Western diets (Drake, 1998). Calcium-fortified tofu and soy milk, dark green vegetables, and figs provide calcium, although it is recommended that if calcium intake is below 600 milligrams per day, a supplement with at least 500 milligrams of calcium should be taken (Insel, 2001). Four additional nutrients that may need to be taken as supplements are vitamin D, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12 (Draper, 1993) since they are found primarily in animal products. One of the biggest concerns with a vegan pregnancy is vitamin B12, which is not found at all in plant sources (Craig, 2001), except in fortified cereals. Therefore it is essential that this vitamin be obtained in supplement form.
The key to a healthy pregnancy for all women is to follow lifestyle recommendations of their health care provider, including consumption of a wide variety of healthful foods. For vegans, combining this with a thorough knowledge of vegan nutrition and consultation with a Registered Dietitian will ensure that they get all the nutrients they require for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby (Beardsworth, 1991).
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Sources
Beardsworth A, and Keil T. (1991).Vegetarianism, veganism and meat-avoidance: recent trends and findings. British Food Journal 93: 19-24
Craig W and Pinyan L .(2001). Nutrients of concern in vegetarian diets. In: Vegetarian Nutrition, (J. Sabate ed.), pp. 299-332. CRC Press, Boca Raton.
Drake R, Reddy S, and Davies J. (1998). Nutrient intake during pregnancy and pregnancy outcome of lactoovo-vegetarians, fish-eaters, and non-vegetarians. Vegetarian Nutrition, 2: 45-52.
Draper A, Lewis J, Malhotta N et al. (1993). The energy and nutrient intakes of different types of vegetarians: a case for supplements? British Journal of Nutrition 69: 3-19.
Fisher, Mary. Midwifery Today with International Midwife. Eugene: Dec 31, 1999., lss. 52; pg. 30
Insel, Paul, Turner, R. Elaine, Ross, Don. (2001) Nutrition. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, p. 557.
Podcast: Vegan diets during pregnancy
Written by: Ariadna M. Rodriguez
Reviewed by Linda Bobroff
