Is a vegan diet safe for pregnant women?

I've seen nutritionists advising pregnant women to eat red meat.Is a vegan diet safe for pregnant women?
On the whole, nope. And if vegan parents are taking those vitamin/multivitamin supplements, they're eating GELATIN. Gelatin is a substance derived from the skin and bones of farm animals. I haven't seen one brand of vitamin supplements that doesn't use gelatin capsules. Talk about hypocrisy!!!

Vitamin B12 deficiency in lactating vegetarian mothers has been linked to deficiencies and neurological disorders in their children. A maternal vegan diet has also been associated with low birth weight, and a five times lower likelihood of having twins than those who eat animal products.



Maternal vegan diet causing a serious infantile neurological disorder due to vitamin B12 deficiency.

We present a 9-month-old exclusively breast-fed baby of a strict vegetarian mother who had excluded all animal proteins from her diet. The patient's symptoms included dystrophy, weakness, muscular atrophy, loss of tendon reflexes, psychomotor regression and haematological abnormalities. Biochemical investigations revealed severe methylmalonic aciduria and homocystinuria in the patient, slight methylmalonic aciduria in the mother and low concentrations of serum vitamin B12 in both patient and mother.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20445鈥?/a>





Severe vitamin B12 deficiency in an infant associated with a maternal deficiency and a strict vegetarian diet.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15087鈥?/a>

The authors present a case of severe megaloblastic anemia and neurologic damage due to vitamin B12 deficiency in a 6-month-old infant. The cause of the vitamin deficiency was a maternal dietary deficiency because of a strict vegetarian diet and prolonged breast-feeding. The importance of early recognition of significant maternal vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy and lactation in vegetarians is emphasized so that appropriate supplementation can be given and irreversible neurologic damage in the infant prevented.



Several cases of severe infant malnutrition and some fatalities have been associated with a poorly planned vegan diet, and provoked criticism of vegan diets for children. Parents involved in these cases were convicted on charges ranging from assault to felony murder.



http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/70/鈥?/a>Is a vegan diet safe for pregnant women?
Yes, they are.



"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes."



http://www.eatright.org/About/Content.as鈥?/a>





Cletus- While sometimes cravings mean you should eat a certain food, it is far from always being a reliable measure of nutrition. Pregnant women can crave alcohol, sugar, dirt, sand, paint chips, and many other things they shouldn't be eating. People in general can crave McDonalds fries, cocaine, pot, hot dogs, and a million other things that aren't good for them.



And those 'wingnuts' you're talking about include the Mayo Clinic and the ADA.
Of course. I know many vegans who've given birth, including the mother of my children -- a perfect healthy pregnancy and birth, twice. You don't hear about it, but most women have all sorts of problems during pregnancy and birth -- everything from vomiting to their uterus turning inside out, all due to poor lifestyle choices, very rarely genetic or otherwise. Really, it's a silly question. You should be asking whether or not eating meat is safe for pregnant women, or milk, or soda pop, or corn flakes, or all that junk people put in their mouths...Is a vegan diet safe for pregnant women?
The only reason they suggest that is for iron. If you're taking your pre-natal vitamins they give you plenty of an iron boost along with a healthy balanced diet. It also isn't so much for the baby as for the mom - you lose a lot of blood in child birth and if you're anemic you can need a transfusion.
That is something that each woman should discuss with their doctor. Eating a lot of red meat isn't good for anyone. It's best to have a balanced diet. Rich in protein whether those sources be from meat or vegetable. The one thing that should be limited is fish,due to mercury content. My OB limits me to 12 ounces of fish a week.Is a vegan diet safe for pregnant women?
It is absolutely safe, as long as you make sure you're getting a balanced diet with all your needs in it.

Supplements can be taken if necessary.
I think the only reason they advise that is because red meat is a testosterone-inducing food and because of the protein/iron. But I'm sure you can subsitute those with vegan foods.
Don't listen to Cliff. %26gt;:[ He needs to gtfo.

YES, it is very very safe. ((: Healthier, too! (((:
It's totally fine. Billions of healthy moms and kids in India can attest to it.
You know... the last 3 pregnant women I knew who were vegetarians broke down and had hamburgers b/c their bodies told them to. Your body is smart. If it's telling you it wants meat... have a burger. Now you'll find no shortage of wingnuts telling you it's perfectly cool to go meatless. And if you want to make that choice for you... great. Do you know of any long term health studies done on women who were meatless during pregnancy... b/c I don't. Do you really want to take the risk... it isn't as though there's no evidence that eating meat during a pregnancy is perfectly fine to do.
Certainly not. It's dangerous for both the woman and the fetus. Pregnant women need extra protein and iron in their diets, and ALL the essential amino acids. Can't get that from a vegan diet.
i guess but whrere are u gona get the protein sso i say no