Thread: Can you hurt the fetus by being vegetarian?

Does vegetarians endanger their unborn children with a meat-free diett? Can the child become underdeveloped due to malnutrition from the mother?

The main concerns with being vegan, pregnant or not, relate to getting sufficient vitamin B12, iron and folate. As long as these needs are addressed and the diet is balanced there should be little need for concern according to this link:

Is it safe to eat a vegan diet during pregnancy? | BabyCenter

my wife is a vegetarian (not vegan) and in pregnancy supplemented her diet with fish
both our children couldn't be more healthy

What the others said.

You don't need "meat". You just need certain nutritional values to be met. Some vitamins and nutrients are gained through meats, but if you supplement a vegetarian diet properly, you don't need to be worried.

Like Marnix said, fish is a fantastic food. I'd be careful about consuming long-lived pelagic fish in too great a quantity as they can hold onto some toxins in greater quantities. But unless you're eating your body weight in tuna every week, it's probably not a big deal.

my wife is a vegetarian (not vegan) and in pregnancy supplemented her diet with fish

Then your wife isn't a vegetarian.

To the OP: This very subject was addressed by the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine here. If you want to learn more about nutrition and a vegetarian/vegan diet, the rest of the website has a lot of valuable resources. All of your concerns can be alleviated with a common sense, balanced, varied diet. A multivitamin would also be helpful (vegan/vegetarian or not).

Originally Posted by Michael Kovich

my wife is a vegetarian (not vegan) and in pregnancy supplemented her diet with fish

Then your wife isn't a vegetarian.

what is she then ? a facultative vegetarian ?
she reverted to form when not pregnant