Things Vegan mums-to-be need to know.

Eating healthily during pregnancy is important for your own health and the health of your developing baby.

It's important to eat a varied and balanced diet during pregnancy to provide enough nutrients for you and the development and growth of your baby.

Vegan mums-to-be need to make sure they get enough iron and vitamin B12, which are mainly found in meat and fish, and vitamin D. Below we will touch on the things you must include in your diet to look after both you and baby!

Iron...
Good sources of iron for vegans are:

• pulses
• dark green vegetables
• wholemeal bread
• fortified breakfast cereals (with added iron)
• dried fruit, such as apricots

Vitamin B12...
Good sources for vegans are:

• fortified breakfast cereals (choose lower sugar options where possible) 
• fortified unsweetened soya drinks
• yeast extract, such as Marmite

As sources for vegans are limited, a vitamin B12 supplement may also be needed.
 

Vitamin D...
Although we get vitamin D from sunlight, vegan food sources include:

foods fortified with vitamin D, including some breakfast cereals 

dietary supplements

Because vitamin D is found only in a small number of foods, it might be difficult to get enough from foods that naturally contain vitamin D and fortified foods alone.

So, all adults, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D, particularly during the winter months.

Vegans will need to read the label to ensure that the vitamin D used in a product isn't of animal origin.
 

Calcium in your diet...

If you're a vegan, you also need to make sure you get enough calcium. This is because non-vegans get most of their calcium from dairy foods.

Good sources of calcium for vegans include:

• dark green leafy vegetables
• pulses
• fortified unsweetened soy, rice and oat drinks
• brown and white bread
• calcium-set tofu
• sesame seeds and tahini
• dried fruit

Hope you’ve found this helpful x  

Thanks for reading  

For more blogs on pregnancy, birth and life as a new mum please visit www.naturalbirthingcompany.com/blogs/news  

During your pregnancy factors may come into play that results in you requiring different advice – in these circumstances, you should seek direct advice from your own Midwife/Doctor according to your situation.  

If you are unsure about anything or have any concerns whilst pregnant please speak to your Midwife.  

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