Medically Reviewed by:
Ivy Cheah, Senior Dietitian – Diabetes Educator certification by the International Diabetes Federation, Gleneagles Hospital Penang
Veganism has been growing in popularity in recent years.
But there are concerns over whether vegan diets are safe or even practical for expectant mothers.
Here’s what you need to know about vegan pregnancies.
What Is Veganism
Veganism is a type of plant-based diet that excludes all animal products like meat, poultry and fish.
Unlike vegetarianism, it also avoids all animal byproducts such as milk, eggs and even honey.
The main bulk of a vegan diet consists of a variety of plant-based food. These include fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds and all their related byproducts.
There are many reasons why someone would want to adopt a vegan lifestyle. These may include environmental reasons, ethical reasons, spiritual or religious reasons, and even economic or financial reasons.
However, there are also very unavoidable medical conditions that may force people to adopt a plant-based diet. An example includes chronic kidney disease that requires a low-protein vegetarian diet.
And these health conditions unfortunately do not change just because you get pregnant.
Other optional reasons that people may go vegan for their health include diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
A plant-based lifestyle can help with insulin sensitivity as well as help decrease BMI.
A vegan diet may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve cardiac function as well, helping improve heart health.
When it comes to pregnancy, veganism has both pros and cons that mums need to know about.
Are There Any Benefits of Veganism for Pregnancy?
Some studies have shown that a veganism diet may actually have some benefits on pregnancy.
Plant-based diets in general contain less saturated fatty acids and cholesterol than those that include animal protein.
A diet rich in animal products (especially red meat) is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular, multiple types of cancers as well as increase the risk of early death.
Vegan diets also contain more folate, fibre, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and carotenoids, which are protective against many illnesses.
When it comes to pregnancy, veganism offers a variety of benefits.
According to research, vegan diets can reduce the risk of all sorts of pregnancy-related conditions. Examples include gestational diabetes, hypertension, and excessive pregnancy weight gain.
Studies have also been shown that vegan mothers also experience a lower rate of Caesarean delivery, postpartum depression, childbirth complications, miscarriage and maternal death.
What Are the Challenges of a Vegan Pregnancy?
Even with all these small benefits in mind, veganism still does present some interesting challenges—especially when it comes to pregnancy.
The main challenge of a vegan pregnancy in this case, is of course, nutritional deficiency; making sure both the mother and baby get enough carbs, proteins, fats as well as vitamins and minerals.
In fact, some doctors may even go so far as to recommend women to correct their nutritional deficiencies before getting pregnant to prevent any potential complications later.
As you may know, there are certain macro- and micro-nutrients that are difficult to get from a plant-based diet. These include zinc, iron, calcium, DHA, vitamin B12 and, of course, protein.
Pregnant women require a lot of these nutrients to ensure their baby grows strong and healthy.
A nutritional deficiency in any of these can cause all sorts of birth defects and pregnancy complications.
And vegans are more prone to experiencing various nutritional deficiencies even with a balanced and complete plant-based diet full of whole foods.
Depending on the kind of medical care you get during your pregnancy, you may or may not get the dietary advice and support that you need.
The preparation, cost and overall meal planning for a proper, pregnancy-friendly vegan diet can also be a challenge. Some vegetables, for instance, are better eaten raw or cooked in a certain way.
Certain veggies can also work against each other, preventing nutrient absorption of other ingredients in a meal when eaten together (the aptly named anti-nutrients).
And that excludes any food allergies that you may have, which may further shorten the list of foods that you are actually able to eat.
Can Veganism Be Dangerous for Pregnancy?
A properly planned vegan diet will never endanger a pregnancy.
However, this does mean that you need proper medical advice.
According to the American Dietetic Association, well planned vegetarian diets are safe for all age groups and in all physiological conditions, including childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, and lactation.
Some studies, however, reveal some concerning facts.
This study, for example, found that a vegan diet may increase the risk of lower birth weight.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Nutritional deficiencies in vegan pregnancies can endanger the mother as much as the baby.
A deficiency in vitamin B12, for instance, spontaneous abortion, recurrent pregnancy loss, intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight, and neural tube defects.
A deficiency in vitamin D in pregnancy is linked with preeclampsia, insulin resistance, gestational diabetes mellitus, bacterial vaginosis, and an increased risk for Caesarean section delivery.
Nutritional deficiencies can also affect the mother.
Deficiencies in folate, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, iron, selenium, zinc, and PUFAs can cause postpartum depression.
So, it’s important for pregnant vegan mothers to get adequate nutritional support and dietary advice to ensure they get all their essential vitamins and minerals.
Non-vegan people can usually get all the nutrients they need from a regular omnivore diet (other than perhaps folate).
However, pregnant vegans may require supplementation for protein, calcium, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, choline, and vitamin D.
What Do Doctors Recommend for a Vegan Pregnancy?
Dietary recommendations for nonvegan mothers versus vegan mothers play by entirely different rules. The main one being avoiding nutritional deficiencies.
Pregnant mums who are on a purely plant-based (vegan) diet are recommended to increase their intake of certain nutrients. Namely vitamin B12, DHA, zinc, protein, iron, calcium and iodine.
Most of these nutrients can only be obtained through supplements or fortified foods.
However, it is still important to get the bulk of your protein from whole foods.
Doctors will often recommend increasing your protein intake if you’re pregnant and on a vegan diet. Up to 25g more of protein each day.
Some high sources of proteins include a variety of legumes (lentils, edamame, chickpeas), nuts (peanuts, cashews) and soy products (tofu, soy milk, tempeh).
Here’s the breakdown of the foods that you need to eat, or eat more of, according to research in order to fulfil your nutritional intake as well as diversify your nutrition overall:
- Zinc: Legumes, soy, nuts, seeds and grains
- Iron: Beans, lentils, leafy green vegetables, fortified cereal (supplemented with vitamin C-rich foods e.g. tomatoes, citruses)
- Iodine: Iodised salt or algae supplement
- Calcium: Broccoli, bok choy and soy food
- DHA: Ground flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, ground chia seeds and walnuts
Vitamin D and vitamin B12 remain the hardest nutrients for vegans to get enough of without resorting to animal sources as they are only abundant in meat, eggs and dairy products.
Beans, broccoli, leafy greens have some vitamin D as well as certain types of mushrooms like shiitake.
Vitamin B12 can be found in fortified breakfast cereals, soymilk, tofu, cereals, and nutritional yeast.
However, you may still need to resort to supplements to boost or at the very least, maintain your vitamin D and vitamin B12 intake.
How Can Pregnant Mums Get the Most Out of A Vegan Diet?
As mentioned, vegan diets are tricky, even with supplementation.
Just when you think you have one nutrient pinned down, something else in your diet may sabotage your overall nutrient intake.
These ‘antinutrients’ include a variety of compounds found in regular vegetables and fruits: phytates, oxalates, lectins, tannins, etc.
They basically block or hinder the absorption of various nutrients from the other food you eat, increasing the risk of various nutrient deficiencies.
Anti-nutrients typically pose no threat to non-vegans since they can compensate for any nutrient loss with their omnivorous diet.
It is a different story for vegans, including pregnant ones.
Calcium and zinc, important micronutrients that are important for a healthy pregnancy, are most affected by the action of anti-nutrients.
Oxalates for instance, abundant in green leafy vegetables, tea, beans, nuts, and beets have been known to bind to calcium and prevent it from being absorbed.
Phytates (phytic acid) in whole grains, seeds, legumes, some nuts—can decrease the absorption of iron, zinc, magnesium, and calcium.
This presents a particular dilemma as these foods are staples in vegan diets and full of other nutrients that the body needs. So, avoiding them completely is impossible.
Fortunately, research shows that there is a way to reduce or even outright eliminate antinutrients from your food.
Examples include soaking, boiling or cooking these foods under high temperatures, and even steaming and fermentation.
These processes deactivate their ability to interfere with nutrient absorption to a certain extent, allowing you to get more of the micronutrients your body needs.
Even with all this in mind, it’s still important to talk with a trained health professional, dietician or nutritionist to ensure that you can thrive safely on a vegan pregnancy.
Thriving On a Plant-based Pregnancy
Vegan diets are entirely possible and safe for expectant mothers.
But it is not advisable for non-vegan expectant mothers to switch to a vegan diet during pregnancy.
As the article has elucidate, there are many nutrition considerations during pregnancy and even more so on a vegan diet.
Thus, it will be a real challenge for her to obtain all the required nutrients she and her baby needs during pregnancy.
With proper planning and advice from licensed medical professionals, a plant-based lifestyle doesn’t have to be an obstacle for getting pregnant.
Plant-based diets can offer a variety of benefits too for both mother and child. But they can also create certain challenges.
A doctor’s advice can quickly address any issues, so that you can remain steadfast in your dietary choices without sacrificing your motherhood journey.
You’ve got this, mummies!
BM
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