The Vegetarian Mother and Baby

Pregnancy

The first thing to assure you of is that a vegetarian diet provides all the nutrients you need during pregnancy, just as it does at other times in your life. Many, many women have gone through successful vegetarian pregnancies, and there is no risk factor involved in being vegetarian. You do have to be careful what you eat, but then so do meat-eaters.

The most difficult thing about being pregnant and vegetarian is the attitude of well-meaning family, friends and medical personnel. Without knowing much (or sometimes anything) about it, people often think that vegetarianism is a risky undertaking, and they are amazed that you would continue this lifestyle whilst pregnant. Hopefully this book will reassure you, and help you to convince others.

Below is a list of the major nutrients you require during pregnancy, and the vegetarian sources:

Protein: This is not be a problem, as all foods, with the exception of fruit, contain some protein, and therefore extra protein will be obtained from the extra food you eat as your pregnancy advances and your appetite increases.
Iron: This is an extremely important nutrient, and your iron needs increase during pregnancy. Iron-rich foods include: wholegrain cereals, pulses (i.e. beans and lentils), green vegetables and dried fruit. During my pregnancy I found that drinking prune juice was an easy, palatable way of increasing my iron intake. Blackstrap molasses is a very rich source of iron, although it is quite strong tasting, and wouldn't appeal to everyone. As your iron needs grow, your body increases its efficiency at extracting iron from plant foods, so once you include these foods in your diet you should be getting plenty of iron.
Calcium: This mineral is found in many foods. Dairy products, especially cheese, are the most obvious source. However, there are many plant sources of this mineral. These include: pulses (especially soya beans), almonds, sesame seeds (and tahini, which is creamed sesame seeds and comes in a jar), dried fruit, green vegetables, carob powder and molasses.
B vitamins: These are also very important. The best source of B vitamins is brewer's yeast, which is available from health food shops. It is excellent nutritionally - unfortunately it tastes vile! I used to mix a tablespoon with just enough orange juice to make it drinkable, and then simply knock it back. It provides a large percentage of your daily B vitamin requirement (except for vitamin B12 - see below), as well as extra iron. Most vegetarian foods contain B vitamins - the only ones for vegans to worry about are B2 (riboflavin) and B12. Sources of B2 include: millet, wholewheat pasta, fortified breakfast cereals, leafy green vegetables and mushrooms. Dairy products are a significant source for non-vegans. As for B12, if you eat dairy products you don't have to worry about this one. If you don't, we recommend that you take a supplement. Some vegetarian foods are fortified ith this vitamin, such as TVP, breakfast cereals, and some soya milks.
Folate (folic acid): This is now known to be vital in preventing birth defects such as spina bifida. All women, vegetarian or not, are strongly advised to take a supplement whilst trying to conceive and for the first three months of pregnancy. Folic acid is found only in vegetarian foods, so vegetarians probably consume more of this than meat-eating women, but we must stress that a supplement is definitely a good idea.
Vitamin D: The body needs vitamin D to use calcium properly. The best sources from diet are dairy products and margarine. Twenty minutes of daylight a day will give you, if you are white, enough vitamin D - even on just your face and hands, in an Irish winter. If you are coloured your body will not be as efficient at extracting vitamin D from meagre Irish sunlight, so you might take a supplement. If you are considering a supplement, please get specific medical advice as too much vitamin D can be toxic.
Zinc:: This mineral is vitally important during pregnancy. Sources include wheatgerm and wheat bran, nuts, bean sprouts, oatmeal, brown rice, cheese, sweetcorn, peas and milk.
Magnesium: Nuts, pulses, wholegrains and dried fruit are rich in magnesium. Potatoes, bananas and fresh fruit and vegetables also contribute.
Iodine: The main sources of iodine are fish and seaweeds. Obviously the former is out for vegetarians, so we use seaweeds such as kelp, kombu or carrageen oss. If you enjoy the taste of seaweeds you can, for example, sprinkle some on salads. If you don't like the taste you can take kelp tablets instead.

This may all seem very complicated, but in fact the same foods crop up again and again. The following foods are good to base your diet around:

Wholegrain cereals.
Pulses, especially soya products and sprouted pulses (sprouted chick-peas are particularly tasty).
Nuts and seeds, especially almonds and sesame seeds for calcium.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables.
Dried fruits.

You might also like to include some brewer's yeast as mentioned above, with a daily tablespoon of molasses and wheatgerm. If you are vegan, a Vitamin B12 supplement would be a good idea. Also include seaweeds as mentioned under the 'Iodine' section.

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