Pregnancy, Infants, & Children
See Real Vegan Children for examples of vegan kids whose mothers had a vegan pregnancy.
Expert Opinions on Veg Diets for Pregnancy, Infants, & Children
In their 5th Edition (2004) of the Pediatric Nutrition Handbook, the American Academy of Pediatrics says:
Children exhibit good growth and thrive on most lacto-ovo vegetarian and vegan diets when they are well planned and supplemented appropriately. (Chapter 12: Nutrition Aspects of Vegetarian Diets, p. 194)
In their 2003 Position Paper on vegetarian diets, the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada state:
Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Pregnancy and the Vegan Diet by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD.
Vitamin B12 and iodine are two nutrients of which vegan mothers should make sure they have a reliable supply.
Deva Nutrition has a Vegan Prenatal Multivitamin
Unfortunately, two of three studies of vegetarian mothers showed an increased risk of having a boy with hypospadias. You can read more about that research in the article Hypospadias and Vegetarian Diets.
Deva Nutrition has a Vegan Prenatal Multivitamin
The American Dietetic Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that well-planned vegan diets can satisfy the nutrient needs and normal growth of infants.1
Breast-feeding is the best option when possible. Vegan parents should not try to make their own infant formulas as this often leads to poor child development. Although more research is desirable, it appears that soy infant formulas are generally safe. See below for information regarding soy formulas.
Breast milk is low in vitamin D and varies according to the mother's intake/sun exposure. According to some experts, dark-skinned, breast-fed babies should be given vitamin D supplements.2
For more information see:
- Feeding Vegan Kids by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
- May 2002 VRG-News by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
- The book Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis, RD and Vesanto Melina, MS, RD
Soy Formulas
If you need to feed your baby formula, soy formulas are available. Unfortunately, they all contain vitamin D3 (which comes from lanolin in sheep's wool or from fish). As of June 2007, the following brands were vegan except for the vitamin D3:
- Bright Beginnings Ultra Soy Formula - vitamin D synthesized from animal cholesterol.
- Enfamil ProSobee LIPIL and Next Step ProSobee LIPIL - vitamin D from lanolin; DHA from microalgae; ARA from fungi.
- Parent's Choice Soy Baby Formula sold only at WalMart - vitamin D from lanolin.
- Baby's Only Organic Soy Formula - vitamin D from lanolin.
- Ross Labs Similac Isomil - vitamin D from lanolin.
- Nestle GOOD START SUPREME SOY DHA & ARA and GOOD START 2 SUPREME SOY DHA & ARA - vitamin D from lanolin.
Click here for thoughts on the subject of trying to be 100% vegan.
Are infant soy formulas safe?
Infant soy formulas have been around for many years and used without apparent problems. However, there has recently been a concern that the isoflavones in soy could be harmful for infants.
Click here for an abstract of the only long-term study comparing infants receiving cow's milk formula to infants receiving soy formula.
Click here for an abstract of a more recent review of the subject.
Click here for an article about a recent, ongoing study of soy infant formulas conducted by the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA. A summary of the article is that there have been no observed negative effects of soy formulas in humans but some animal research has raised concerns that soy formulas may cause infants to metabolize drugs abnormally fast. While this has not yet been directly studied in human infants, it seems that researchers looking at other aspects of soy formulas' effects on infants would have observed manifestations of abnormally fast drug metabolism if it were a common or serious problem.
Children
For more information, see:
- Feeding Vegan Kids by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
- The book Raising Vegetarian Children by Joanne Stepaniak, MS ED and Vesanto Melina, MS, RD.
Fiber and Children
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children eat no more than .23 g of fiber per pound of body weight per day. Vegan children can easily exceed this limit. They might come closer to recommendations by eating half of their servings of grains as refined grains (e.g., white pasta, white rice, white bread).3
Vegan children who do not eat much because they get full easily may benefit from eating some low-fiber foods such as refined grains, peeled fruits and vegetables, and added oils.3 Nuts and nut butters can also increase their calorie and protein intake. For younger children, be sure to chop or grind nuts well enough to prevent choking.
Footnotes
1. Mangels AR, Messina V. Considerations in planning vegan diets: infants. J Am Diet Assoc. 2001 Jun;101(6):670-7.
2. Vitamin D. Vegetarian Nutrition & Health Letter Loma Linda University School of Public Health. 2001;4(5):1-5.
3. Messina V, Mangels AR. Considerations in planning vegan diets: children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2001 Jun;101(6):661-9.