Vegan Pregnancy

September 8, 2001

Shelley-

Your comment about the vegans you have heard of only gained 20lbs while

pregnant made me laugh! I've been vegan for 10 years and pregnant now for 42

weeks and I've gained 60+ Lbs. I'm also the one that's allergic to soy, along

with other things, and people are always questioning what I can eat, but

obviously I don't have trouble finding things to eat. I do get alot of carbs

and I like to fry food (veggies, potatoes, polenta, burgers). I just made

sure that I tried to get enough protein, but my doula told me early on that

bodies adapt to being vegetarian and your body adjusts to your protein

intake, so unless you just recently became vegan, your body knows what is

" normal " for you.

A few people have asked me if I stayed vegan while pregnant (why wouldn't I?)

and what my doctor said. This questioning implies that a vegan diet is

insufficient and actually a medical concern, which I completely disagree

with. Why would I ask my doctor if my perfectly healthy diet should be a

concern? I think my diet is so much healthier than one filled with hormones,

antibiotics, flesh, fat, disease, etc. I think that should be the real

concern- consuming dead animals. My first doctor (I had to change for

philosophical reasons) asked if I was drinking enough milk?!?! I simply told

her that I don't drink cow's milk, but try to have fortified rice milk

everyday, and she accepted that.

As far a having a C Section, don't get it in your head that you'll have to

have one just because the women in your family did. My friend recently did

that and ended up having to get one, and I believe it's because that's how

she had envisioned her birth the entire time. You may want to look into

having a doula or monitrice with you, statistics show women who use them have

lower rates of C Sections and episiotomies. I wanted to have as natural of

birth as possible and chose to go the hospital route. My first doctor and I

were not seeing eye to eye on the birth process and at 7 months I followed my

instinct switched to another one that I am very happy with. I'm sure that if

I had stayed with my original doctor I would have been induced by now, for no

real medical reason other than I'm past the due date that they gave me. It's

very important to find a doctor that will respect and uphold your own beliefs

on birth.

Tera

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