Pregnancy does not mean that a woman should eat twice as much. It implies that a woman should eat twice as good. The most reasonable and conscious choice of nutrition during pregnancy will be vegetarianism. The section “Preparing for conception” describes in detail all the advantages of this type of nutrition.
The belief that pregnant women should always consume meat to maintain hemoglobin and normal development of the child is nothing more than an anachronism refuted by many reasonable doctors. The lack of protein, vitamin B12 and other substances only because of the absence of meat, fish and eggs in a pregnant woman's ration is completely a myth. Examples of such problems among non-vegetarian women are observed at least as often, and even more often. A body contaminated with an indigestible protein is sick and feels discomfort more often than an organism accustomed to an easy, quickly digestible food. There are even cases when vegetarians, when planning a conception, under the rule of prejudice begin to consume meat. After all, they are assured that during pregnancy they will still be forced to eat meat. Experience shows that neither mother nor developing baby wins from this decision. Problems with hemoglobin remain the same, and internal organs suffer from this gravity.
In general, the most common “scarecrow” for pregnant women among modern doctors is anemia, or lack of iron, expressed in a lowered level of hemoglobin. Nevertheless, doctors should not be allowed to use our illiteracy. It should be remembered that the decrease in hemoglobin during childbearing is typical of almost all women regardless of their diet. Of all foods, iron is digested extremely poorly. Therefore, the increased consumption of beef liver (where, in addition, all the waste of the body of an animal grown on hormones and antibiotics accumulate) has, as statistics show, almost zero result. Reduction of hemoglobin in a pregnant woman is the norm. This phenomenon is called “physiological anemia”. Thus the body protects itself from the risk of bleeding. This is the mechanism laid down by nature, for the preservation of pregnancy. It is extremely illogical and unreasonable to apply the norms of the hemoglobin index for a non-pregnant woman to a female organism that is being reconstructed into pregnancy. Unfortunately, very many gynecologists ignore these obvious differences and as a result unreasonably provoke unnecessary anxiety in women, which significantly affects the health of mother and baby.
The main thing is that the mark does not drop below 90. The situation can be called alarming, when the hemoglobin in the blood of a pregnant woman does not go down at all. Then there is some risk of bleeding opening. Our task at a reduced level of hemoglobin is to maintain it, so that it does not fall below a certain mark (90). And products of vegetable origin are doing fine with this.
In addition, even the doctors themselves today recommend that women minimize or completely exclude animal protein from the diet in the third trimester of pregnancy. This allows the body to clear before labor, significantly reduces the risk of such problems as premature aging of the placenta, and prepares the soft tissues of the pelvis for childbirth - the more elastic the ligaments, muscles and tissues of the female body are, the more likely that the birth will be easier, faster and without tearings.
“I am a doula and I accompany women during pregnancy, during childbirth and after. I work with midwives and doctors, who help with childbirth at home. As practice shows (joint experience of midwives and doctors helping with childbirth, observing pregnancy and the postpartum period), women-vegetarians tend to act during labor generically calmer and softer than women who adhere to a different type of diet. The concentration of fear of rejection of meat is reduced. The use of meat in the third trimester of pregnancy can adversely affect the health and to some extent interfere with the preparation of the organism for the forthcoming birth; there is a need for protein to a greater extent in the 1st and 2nd trimesters, but not necessarily it must be an animal protein. The standard recommendation for nutrition in the 3rd trimester from our midwives is eating pumpkins, the maximum reduction in the amount of salt and sugar/sweets in the diet of the future mother, and also orientation to the needs of the body (if a woman feels well her body and knows how to hear needs, not desires). Women-vegetarians, who adhered to this type of diet for 3-4 years before the onset of pregnancy, may be less likely to have toxicosis”.
Olga, doula
Another question that meat-eaters regularly ask vegetarians is the question of sources of protein and vitamin B12. The protein is found in many foods much more useful than animal food. The human body, having obtained a protein from meat, must expend a lot of energy in order to split it and isolate therefrom the necessary amino acids. However, the rest of the “garbage” has to be processed by the liver, pancreas, intestines, which are not suitable by nature for processing such waste. In conditions of an additional burden on the body during pregnancy with the regular use of meat by woman, all internal organs receive unjustified burden and stress.
From vegetable products, the body receives not the protein, but the necessary amino acids in its pure form. Therefore, there is no need for it to split animal protein, which is perceived by our body as an identical protein contained in human meat, and, therefore, not intended for digestion. The organism builds up amino acids in the necessary chains, without being filled with harmful substances introduced into the organisms of animals.
As for vitamin B12, the human body is able to independently produce it (synthesized in the intestine). But only that organism, which is not blocked by toxins, poisons and pus from the attempt to digest food, that is not peculiar to our species.
Thus, in an organism purified in vegetarianism, this vitamin will be synthesized by itself independently. Therefore, an alternative, wholesome and useful for the mother’s and her baby’s organism, of course, exists.
Many women who adhere to vegetarianism, note excellent health, additional strength, ease, both before conception, and during pregnancy. In addition, women-vegetarians for 9 months of pregnancy usually gain only the necessary increase in weight (and it is not so big as they write in books), which allows the body to function adequately. And after childbirth, it is easy enough for them to get rid of the kilograms and return elasticity to tissues and skin.
“It seems to me that vegetarianism makes a person more open and sensitive to himself and the world around him. The body is cleansed of layers of unnecessary husks: on the physical plane - antibiotics, hormones, dietary supplements, which are abused by livestock enterprises, on the energy level - the energy of suffering and the dying horror of animals, on the intellectual and spiritual - understanding that in order for you to eat, someone is deprived of precious life. I felt it especially well in pregnancy, which passed without toxicosis, sharp jumps of mood and irresistible gastronomic desires. Everything was smooth and easy, and, enjoying my state, I lived a full life so that on the thirtieth week I passed the exam and became a certified yoga teacher. The cleanliness and freshness of the body and soul allowed listening and hearing my body, accepting changes in it, feeling the sex of the baby in the first months, breastfeeding, trusting in my senses, and not bewildered because of the numerous, sometimes annoying, advice of others. It seems that it is thanks to vegetarianism that I feel such a sensitive and deep connection with the child. In turn, my son, who lived his first year as a vegetarian, calmly, openly and joyfully looks at this world. I wish to all happy and harmonious pregnancy and motherhood!”
Nataliya Kryazhevskikh, yoga teacher,
breastfeeding counselor, baby sling counselor,
Andrey’s mother
“Pregnancy is a very important part of the life of any woman. Life of a little man will depend on her thoughts and actions. Since the child is inside the woman, he will be as healthy and mentally developed, as his mom is. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to your body. And the body, in turn, is healthy only when it is nourished with healthy food. Theme of nutrition during pregnancy is one of the important components of a healthy pregnancy.
On my experience and experience of other mothers, I am convinced that vegetarianism and veganism are healthy and balanced types of nutrition, especially during pregnancy. You can study a lot of different literature on this topic. During pregnancy, I did not eat foods such as meat, fish, eggs, and ate very few dairy products. I ate a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, salads and other greens. I also drank freshly squeezed juices and green cocktails. Sometimes it happened to eat and not very healthy food, for example, chocolate or other sweets, but I tried to exclude refined sugar and replace it with honey. Also during pregnancy and during lactation I performed purification of the body using the method of Marva Ohanyan. I was registered in a women's consultation and I took standard tests for pregnant women. Everything was normal. The level of hemoglobin was slightly lowered, as it is often happens in recent terms. I felt perfectly and actively practiced yoga until the childbirth. During pregnancy I did not use any synthetic drugs or vitamins. In general being a vegetarian I forgot about tablets. In my experience, I am convinced that by eating only live foods, you can stay healthy. I sincerely wish women not to eat meat and other products of animal origin during pregnancy in order not to harm their child”.
Alina Terentyeva, yoga teacher, Svetoslav’s mother
An important rule for a balanced diet of a pregnant woman to maintain hemoglobin is the lack of sharing of foods containing iron and protein. For the reason that these substances compete with each other. Iron-containing foods are better to eat with foods rich in vitamin C, as it promotes better absorption of iron.
It is up to you to decide whether to tell your doctor that you adhere to a vegetarian type of food or not. The main thing is to remember that modern physicians in their majority are the product of the system and work according to a specific instruction. Very few of them adequately approach this or that problem of the human body. Nevertheless, with each year such professionals become more and more. Therefore, your gynecologist will not have a panic attack because of the news that you do not eat meat.
The best option here is sanity. Firstly, listen to yourself and your body. If you have been practicing self-improvement before, you will be able to subtly feel the processes that happen to you on the physical level. Secondly, do not become obsessed with the opinion of one doctor who assures you that meat is needed for a pregnant and nursing woman, and even more so for the developing baby’s body. Visit several doctors and bring out the average opinion. We really hope that you will be lucky to meet a competent specialist who, for the sake of simplifying his work, does not ignore the facts and real experience of many people.
There are interesting words of the doctor, obstetrician-gynecologist, Tatyana Malysheva about pregnancy on vegetarianism: “I have worked for many years with pregnant women, and have never seen a vegetarian with a deficiency of protein and iron. But I saw meat eaters with their deficit much more. The bodies of non-vegetarians are much more slagged than of those, who do not eat meat at all. If the body is very sick, this is the first sign that it is poisoned by toxic substances, and it is necessary to stop meat-eating in the first place, since meat is the main supplier of toxins to the body”1.
“Before the pregnancy, I was a vegetarian for almost 4 years. During these 4 years, the health improved significantly. Yearly quinsy, problems with skin, digestion and so on were gone. But, to be honest, I thought that I would not be able to immediately get pregnant. Since there are many cases of infertility and problems with conception and bearing a child, and I am already 30 years old. But at once, without any problems, I became pregnant. I was even shocked, I thought, in our time, it does not happen this way. For 4 years of vegetarianism I did not take any tests, so it was exciting to go through them all now, on pregnancy. Absolutely all the tests were normal, there was not a single deviation. I did not drink any vitamins or tablets. I was eating more greens and fruits. There was no toxicosis. And in general the pregnancy went smoothly, and the birth at home was successful. So personally, I see no reason to fear that vegetarianism for mother and child is dangerous, my experience has shown the opposite. Everyone praises my son: healthy, active and very calm and balanced baby.
I want to add something about the weight of babies of vegetarians. I watched the course of Tatyana Malysheva, a midwife-doctor with a very long experience. She said that children began to be born too large, already overweight for their age, it is difficult difficult to bear them and give birth. The meat is filled with artificial growth hormones, with which the animals were fed, and these hormones pass into the body of the mother and child.
Our son weighed 3 kg when he was born, according to Malysheva - this is the gold standard. After birth, he is perfectly gaining weight, eating breast milk.”
Ginta Liede, yoga teacher, Svetoslav’s mother
“Thoughts about vegetarianism were born in me after reading the legendary book of Marva Ohanyan “Ecological medicine. The Way of the Future Civilization”, I learned about it during one of Ekaterina Androsova’s lectures. After consulting with the husband, we decided to first reduce the amount of consumed animal food by half. After a while there was only an occasional use of it, and by the time of conception I was already a vegetarian. So, my third pregnancy was under the alarming fears of gynecologists about a possible lack of protein for me and my baby. However, after the second trimester, when all the tests were regularly perfect, they were less worried, and my experiences subsided. As a result, the child was born with weight of 3760 g, and height of 56 cm. And this despite the fact that the first children were with weight 2960 and 3150, and height of 51 cm!!! And where did he get the protein? When he grows up, I will definitely ask.
To date, my baby is a year and 7 months. So far, we have left two breastfeedings: in the morning and before bedtime. My child grows well, outstripping the growth of his older brother and sister at this age, and is very different in mental development: when in his incomplete 2 years he does and understands things that are peculiar to children older than 3 years.”
Julia Skrynnikova, teacher,
mother of Elizabeth, Danila and Svyatoslav
“I am a vegetarian myself, I have not eaten meat since my childhood, except for those years when parents in ignorance forced me to eat meat by violent methods. In general, I left home to study at 15 (now I’m 39), from this age I completely stopped eating meat, now, with the exception of beekeeping products, I can say, I’m on vegan food. I have two children, one is 5 years old, the second is 3,5 years, both vegetarians since birth, they have never eaten meat, although I offered them a chicken to sample, so to speak, to absolve myself of the sin of responsibility to deprive them of something and to deprive of an opportunity of a choice, but my attempt was rejected by children. Both pregnancies I was on a vegetarian diet with few exceptions: during the first pregnancy I sometimes used fish, as well as dairy products, due to this my child has a wild intolerance of these products, especially fish (when we tried to feed him with grandmother’s fish soup, we received an allergic reaction in the form of a quincke edema and nearly lost a child). With the second child, I acted more wisely and during pregnancy did not eat seafood and products of animal origin in general, but consumed a large number of vegetables and fruits, fresh juices, etc. My child was born on time, absolutely healthy with a weight of 4 kg. Now he is also a vegetarian and does not eat animal products. I especially want to note the moment of the birth itself: having prepared myself for serious tests, I gave birth to the first child easily and practically painlessly, and with the second it was even easier, since there were no more of these fears. Currently, children grow strong and healthy, very rarely suffer from colds (usually diseases last for 2-3 days and are carried very easily, without any green snot, cough and other). We lead an active way of life, we go in for sports on a season.
In the kindergarten, the children naturally do not eat meat, they simply refuse to take such food, eat what is not meat, or they can just starve the day (for them it's easy) and wait until I come and feed them at home. I agreed with the educators in the groups, so that my children will not be forced to eat meat if they do not want it. And I was allowed to bring them fruits, although in general it is forbidden to bring food to the kindergarten. I leave fruits in the locker, and if they are fed with meat for lunch or afternoon snack, the educators give them the fruits I brought, and my children sit separately in the little corner and chew their apples and pears, it suits everyone, thank gods, I thought it would be much harder. I do not explain to them why I do not eat meat, they just do not ask such questions, for them it is naturally to have fruits and vegetables and drink juices. For them it’s a self-evident thing, how to breathe or walk, I think, if they were forced to eat meat, then they would have questions.”
Elena Maltseva, lawyer, mother of Radomir and Vladimir
“I became a vegetarian about 10 years ago, the main reason is moral considerations, but an indirect reason is the incessant gastritis and accompanying diseases of the digestive tract. Everything happened by itself, without self-coercion. I lost weight in a couple of sizes, my stomach became less disturbing. Since I stopped cooking meat, my husband also gradually switched to vegetable food.
Even when I had not planned a pregnancy, I knew that my child would be a vegetarian. Now my son is 2 years and 9 months old, and he is a vegetarian. He practically does not get sick with viral infections, in comparison with other children, he weighs and develops normally. Now our diet is mostly made up of vegetables and fruits.”
Varvara Kuznetsova, production and sale of clothing,
Dobrynya’s mother
“I have an interesting experience in terms of vegetarianism during pregnancy. Because in the first pregnancy I ate everything, and the meat too. And by the beginning of the second pregnancy and until now, vegetarianism has finally rooted in our family. Therefore I can compare: “meat eating and pregnancy” and “vegetarianism and pregnancy”. From the point of view of the physical course of pregnancy, the health of the child, his weight and other – there was no difference. In terms of pluses to karma – the difference is huge. In both pregnancies I gained the same weight, there were no serious problems in monitoring pregnancy. There were more minor troubles, with respect to analyzes, during meat-eating. During vegetarianism everything was normal, except for anemia, which haunts me and in normal condition. Children were born at the normal weight, on time. The second child, as often happens, was larger than the first (almost 4 kg). Therefore, I'm definitely for vegetarianism: all are alive and you feel good.”
Ksenia Smorgunova, a former chief accountant,
mother of Arina and Polina
And most importantly - when defending your position, remember the main argument in favor of vegetarianism - if we make a choice in favor of life, for our children, both current and future, it cannot be bad due to this!
In the Dharani Sutra of the Buddha on Longevity The Extinction of Offences And the Protection of Young Children Buddha Shakyamuni and Medicine King Bodhisattva speak directly about the worst harm for a child, if his parents eat the slaughter food themselves and encourage others to eat it. It is important that they indicate the possibility of redemption of such bad karma through spiritual practice:
“…At that time, the Medicine King Bodhisattva, Qi-Po went forth to The Buddha and said, "World Honored One! I am known as The Great Medicine King, and I am able to cure all diseases. The small babies may be infected with nine kinds of diseases, which will cause them to die young.
…The second is that the place where the baby us being delivered is defiled by the blood.
…The fifth is that animals are killed in the preparation of a feast for relatives and friends.
…The seventh is that when the child is sick, he is fed with all types of meat.
…The Buddha then turned to speak to Manjushri Bodhisattva, “…Moreover, Manjushri! After my extinction, in the Evil World of Five Turbidities, all those pregnant women who kill and devour the flesh of living beings or eat the eggs so as to strengthen their bodies, such a woman, who is lacking in kindness and compassion, will get the retribution of a short life span presently. She will face a difficult delivery and might even die from it. Even if she can deliver the child safely, he is indeed the creditor or enemy who comes to seek a repayment of debts. He can never be the good knowing adviser who is beneficial to the family. But if this woman is able to bring forth good vows besides writing down this Sutra, accept, uphold, read and recite it, then she will not have to face a difficult delivery. Safely she will deliver the child without any hindrance. Mother and child will both be blissful. She will get what she has vowed for, either a son or a daughter”2.
“During pregnancy and breastfeeding, I adhered to an exclusively vegetarian type of diet, because this food is familiar to me from childhood. When my first pregnancy came, I learned about the wonderful naturopathic doctor Marva Ohanyan, her methods of cleansing the body and the ability to switch to a more conscious level of nutrition - raw diet. For me it was difficult at that time to completely switch to another food system, so I limited myself to a light purge using the Ohanyan method, after which I felt great (it was my 3rd month of pregnancy). Then I introduced freshly squeezed juices into my diet, more fresh vegetables and fruits. My state of health was good, there was no toxicosis.
During pregnancy, I did not take any extra vitamins. Being observed in an ordinary female consultation, I took all the required tests, and they were all good during the entire period of pregnancy. With my vegetarian diet, I gave birth to the healthy big baby”.
Anna Solovey, musical director of the kindergarten, mother of Nadezhda
Starvation and fasting days during pregnancy. If before pregnancy you practiced starvation, you can continue this practice (not more than 1 time in one or two weeks), because the body has already adapted to it. In no case during pregnancy you should not start to starve or arrange cleansing of the body according to any system, in which your body did not have time to accumulate enough experience. But it is very useful to organize fasting days at times. Under the fasting days is meant the use during the day of a single product that is saturated with the necessary nutritional reserve of substances. Fasting day on apples or oranges, in which acidity is increased, will not give a positive effect, but on the contrary can cause problems with digestion.
Water consumption. In addition to the question of food, it is also good to give some recommendations on the water consumption. Many women are frightened by their mothers and most doctors with such a problem as edema during pregnancy.
It should be known that with conscious eating, which allows the body to remain clean and perform its functions in the best way, as well as with sufficient water consumption, edema disturbs women very rarely. We are often told (especially in the third trimester of pregnancy) that the legs and hands will swell and bloat from copious drinking. However, the point here is exactly the opposite - not sufficient consumption of water. Our wise body, if it lacks any substances, begins to store them for future use, so that in the future it does not appear in a situation of deficiency of the necessary minimum. The same thing happens with water: the less we drink, the more water the body stores in tissues. As a result, there are edemas. You really need to drink water, at least 1.5 liters per day (not including other liquids). Then our calm and contented body will take out all the excess fluid, not saving it “for the black day”.
If you have edemas with sufficient water consumption, most likely the reason is that one of the internal organs cannot cope with the function assigned to it and needs your attention. In this case, it is necessary to consult a specialist, but better, as we said above, with several.
However, if prior to pregnancy you led a wholesome lifestyle and adhered to vegetarianism, you have got good chances that your body, cleansed over a long period of time, will never encounter such a problem. But even in the reverse situation it will be much easier for it to solve this problem. We sincerely wish you to have the opportunity to show awareness and conscious living in the wonderful period of bearing a baby!