Saturday, September 7, 2013

A healthy vegan pregnancy

If you're a woman planning to have a child (or have discovered you're pregnant), and have been following a vegan lifestyle, there are many questions that can enter one's mind:
  • Is my present vegan diet sufficient for my pregnancy needs?
  • How much protein do I need to eat daily?
  • Am I getting enough iron, zinc and iodine? Do I need taurine and carnitine?
  • How much DHA-EPA do I need to consume for optimal prenatal care?
  • Are my present B12 doses ideal for a vegan pregnancy?
  • What vegan wholefoods have calcium? Do I need a supplement?
  • Am I receiving enough sunlight for vitamin D?  Should I get a prenatal supplement with additional vitamin D?
  • What chemicals/ drugs should I avoid while pregnant?
  • What are my birth plans?
  • Are ultrasounds safe?  Do I really need to vaccinate my baby? What are the risks?
Undoubtedly, there are many aspects of prenatal health care to consider. To help your quest, it's always best to speak to a professional healthcare specialist. However, you should also invest in your own "library" of information gathered from reputable websites, professional organisations, health care providers and books.

Furthermore, it's also advisable to seek a number of different opinions on an important prenatal issue. You should also seek evidence for a particular opinion to ensure arguments are based on informed, current, impartial, quality data/ studies, research and statistics. In this way, you'll know exactly what the likely outcome and risks are if you follow a professional's particular advice or decide on another course of action.

To help you (or your partner) begin your quest for sage prenatal advice, we've put together a sample of vegan pregnancy books for your wonderful journey...