Vegan Pregnancy Diet Advice

• Take a daily prenatal vitamin, B-12 supplement and calcium supplement.
• Get a daily dose of vegetarian omega-3 either through flax seed oil or a capsule.
• Make sure you are eating three meals and snacking in between. Don’t skip any meals; even when you don’t feel like eating you can make a great smoothie.
• Read Pregnancy, Children and the Vegan Diet , and Conscious Eating to learn more about an optimal vegan meal plan.
• When increasing your protein intake use a variety of sources, do not depend on soy alone. Eat lentils, peanut butter, nuts, other legumes and lots of vegetables (remember they have protein too).
• Eat at least one serving of uncooked vegetables and some kind of leafy green every day.
• Watch fruit and juice intake, as they are high in sugar.
• Eat natural and organic as much as possible while pregnant. It is more expensive but if you can manage them into your budget because healthy development is so important for your baby’s long-term health.
• Omit caffeine from your diet in at least the first trimester and limit during the second and third.

Folks will question your diet and the best thing is to be positive and be educated in order to offer them information .There are also many resources for vegetarian and vegan women regarding pregnancy, products, and breastfeeding.

Here are our favorites:
VegFamily
Pregnancy and the Vegan Diet
Vegan Nutrition in Pregnancy and Childhood
La Leche League
A Successful Veg Pregnancy
Growth of vegetarian children: The Farm Study

Stores:
www.veganstore.com Prenatal and children’s vitamins
www.veganessentials.com/ Children’s vitamins and books
www.kidbean.com Children’s shoes, clothes, and toys
www.ahappyplanet.com Baby organic sheets, blankets, and toys
www.earthbaby.com/ Cloth diapers, baby slings, and pregnancy apparel.

Additional Websites:
http://www.vegsource.com/parent/growing_vegans.htm
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.htm
http://www.vegfamily.com/
http://www.vegetarianbaby.com/

Additional Books:
Healthy Eating for Life for Children
Raising Vegan Children in a non-vegan world
Raising Vegetarian Children: A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony

Veggie Friendly Kids Books:
Cows Are Vegetarians: A Book for Vegetarian Kids by Ann Bradley

Victor, the Vegetarian: Saving Little Lambs and Victor's Picnic: With the Vegetarian Animals by Radha Vignola

Herb, the Vegetarian Dragon and Cooking with Herb the Vegetarian Dragon: A Cookbook for Kids by Jules Bass

The Jumbo Vegetarian Cookbook (Kids Can Press Jumbo Books) by Judi Gillies, Jennifer Glossop, Louise Phillips

Baa Humbug!: A Sheep with a Mind of His Own by Mike Jolley and Deborah Allwright

I Eat Vegetables! by Hannah Tofts and Rupert Horrox

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell and Helen Oxenbury

Oliver's Fruit Salad by Vivian French, Alison Bartlett

Benji Bean Sprout Doesn't Eat Meat by Sarah Rudy

Saving Emily by Nicholas Read, Ellen Klem

To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda, Janet Stevens