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| my extremely healthy, usually happy baby |
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| Raspberry Vanilla Protein Shake |
3. Supplements: Taking supplements was a new practice, but a very important one. I took (and still take for breast feeding) Rainbow Light Prenatal One, a fantastic vegetarian prenatal that only needs to be taken once a day, B12 (very important pregnant moms!), and Iron. I can proudly say my iron levels stayed great throughout my whole pregnancy).
4. Read. I spent a lot of time on websites and in the backs of cookbooks determining my nutritional needs and planning out how to fulfill them.There are many great resources for vegans during pregnancy. The Vegan Survival Guide by Sayward Rebhal, one of the first books dedicated solely for pregnant vegans, is a great resource I came across after giving birth. I found it important to stay well informed both for myself and my concerned friends and family.
5. Support. I was very fortunate to have a doctor who supported my veganism but I have heard stories of people defending their decision to their health care providers and not receiving their support. It is so important to find a nurse, midwife, or doctor who will work with your lifestyle choices and believe in the inherent health of a vegan diet.
6. Cravings. When the cravings came, I quickly found foods that would satisfy. The grocery store two blocks away carried vegan scones and I spent a lot of my days off stocking up. At home when I craved something sweet and chocolatey I had fast go-to recipes like my no-bake cookies. There was also a time I ate a lot of processed fake meat. Aware of all the foods available to me and with reliable, fast recipes there was never a time I was unable to satisfy a craving.
And in the end…
As my journey continues I learn how to have a vegan baby who will grow into a vegan toddler. I’m sure there will be lots to share. And maybe next time I’ll tell you what I did with my placenta. 
Do you have any vegan pregnancy thoughts or stories?
Thanks for stopping by! The Sweet Life is a vegan food blog combining my love for good food, beautiful pictures, and compassionate eating. I am a long time vegan, trained in both photography and French Patisserie, excited to share my passions. Take a look around and enjoy The Sweet Life
I appreciate this article – I’m not quite vegan since I will eat chicken and white fish. but otherwise due to food allergies I am. I find we never get invited out to supper any more because of this – no one know what on earth I eat. I’m currently pregnant though and I’ve been drinking almond milk and trying to just eat as healthy as I can and take a multi-vitamin a day! Baby looked perfect on the ultrasound! (find out come september – but I’m pretty confident she’ll come out perfect)
Congrats on the baby! I’m glad everything looks good and you’re feeling well. If you have any questions I’d love to help.
Hello, i can only consume small amountes of soy tofu and beans daily in order to get protein while pregnant . You mention you got most of your protein from soytofu and beans. unfortuetly i cannot consume much of this food on a daily basis . What do reccomend to consume along with those foods to get my protein needs throughout a vegan pregnancy.
Beans, lentils, quinoa, seitan, vegan protein powder, nuts, protein bars (I used to eat one from odwalla every day), nut butters. All of these foods have great protein. I’m glad to hear you’re doing a vegan pregnancy!
thx so much for the suggestions above. but im still worried i wont gget enough vegan sources of protein during pregnatcy since i need such a high amount of protein. but ill try my best………………..thx again, great website, ill keep in touch
Congrats on the pregnancy! It is very hard to eat 70+ grams of protein when pregnant. I struggled with it every day, and didn’t always make it to 70. But I did find a lot of ways to sneak in extra protein here and there. Be in touch if you have any specific questions, I’d love to continue to share my experience and what worked/didin’t work. Take care!
Hi i have a question about prenatel multivitamines. Im 38 years old and at the present moment im trying to get pregnant. Do i start takeing prenatel multivitamines now or once i get pregenant. and what are the most important multi minerals and vitamines in a prenatel MV . Is it folic acid ,B12, iron and protein – to have when vegan and trying to conceive. Can you pls make some reccomendations of prenatel multivitamins that are good……………..thx nat …………..p.s im looking to buy prenatal mv, asap.
I didn’t start taking my prenatel until after I was pregnant, however I do know some people who take a prenatel as their daily vitamin because it has so much good stuff in it. You definitely want to make sure your prenatel has iron, folic acid, and b12. i took an additional iron supplement when I was pregnant as well. as far as protein goes, you’re gonna have to find ways to get that without help from a supplement. I made a lot of protein smoothies with a soy protein powder.
I used Rainbow Light MV and loved it. Its the only one I have experience with but it was unique because I only had to take it once a day (unlike some of the other vegetarian PN I saw)
hope this helps. good luck.
Thx so much, i will look into that multivitamin. Your advice was very helpfull.
I have had 2 vegan pregnancies resulting in 4 healthy children (yes, 2 sets of twins) and wouldn’t have done it any other way. I was vegan 4 years before my first pregnancy and read everything I could get my hands on about pregnancy and childbirth. Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina was a wonderful resource. I needed about 90-100 grams a protein a day during my pregnancy since it was twins. Most days, I did not meet that goal, not because of being vegan but because I just couldn’t eat that much but I did eat high protein foods such as beans, hummus, nuts, nut butters, sprouted whole grain breads and non-dairy milks. I had some major food aversions during both pregnancies and focused on eating what I could such as watermelon and peanut butter toast. I also used Rainbow-Lite Prenatal and took a calcium supplement as well.
My first set of twins, I was 36 years old, were born at 36 weeks and weighed 5lbs 4oz and 5lbs 1oz and my 2nd set of twins, born at 38 weeks, when I was 42 years old, weighed 7lbs 5oz and 5lbs 11oz. The kids are now 8 years old and 2.5 years old, vegan since birth, and healthy. It is amazing to watch little vegans become so aware of their food and where it comes from and to enjoy eating wholesome foods.
Thanks for sharing that story! How inspiring to go through vegan twin pregnancies. I can’t imagine trying to get 100 grams of protein a day. That would be hard for anyone with ant diet.
Hello
During pregnancy did anyone take or can recommend a good DHA Oil, thank you