By Chloe Bennet
Becoming pregnant means that you are no longer responsible solely for yourself: something which categorizes all people’s feelings of nervousness to parenthood in general. It may be that you are a vegan and you are concerned that your diet will affect your unborn child. Many people are then espousing the importance of following a balanced diet while pregnant.
However, the fact is that no two people, experts or not, truly agree what the perfect pregnancy diet looks like. The truth is that there is probably more than one answer. That is why it is possible to enjoy a healthy pregnancy, both for mother and child while maintaining your vegan diet. Here’s how.
It’s not just about the pregnancy itself.
Often one of the key points to a healthy pregnancy is your enduring health before you become pregnant. That means eating healthily and maintaining a healthy lifestyle before you conceive. If you are in the process of looking to conceive, this becomes even more important. An unhealthy body will find it much more difficult (though not impossible) to support a healthy pregnancy. It is therefore important to begin to cut out harmful practices and think about ways of improving your lifestyle if possible. If you do all of these things and are vegan in the meantime, your diet will not need to change once you become pregnant.
Accept that not everything will go according to plan.
Pregnancy is a wonderful preparation for parenthood because no matter how much you plan, be prepared to see all structure go immediately out of the window. Don’t panic; this is 100% normal. For example, during pregnancy, you may suffer from food aversions – you may find your stomach turning with the smell of food that you always loved previously. To the rational mind, it will difficult to process, but all expectant mothers experience unlikely taste changes. Then you may have to combat morning sickness or intolerance of certain foods.
“My advice to expectant mothers with strict dietary procedures is this: be prepared to adapt. It’s mother nature’s way of telling you that it’s not just about you anymore – something that will become abundantly clear the moment your baby arrives,” suggests Tracey Drinkwater, a blogger at Assignment Help and Essayroo.
You can’t do this alone.
It may be that you are fiercely independent with your dietary needs. You may have a partner who doesn’t follow the same routines as you. You are therefore solely responsible for the meals that you prepare and eat, or at least extend a high measure of control over this. Pregnancy is a team sport: you and your partner are in this together. It will, therefore, become more challenging to run the same routines you had before you discovered a baby was on the way. That means, for example, that there are times when you are tired and won’t be able to prepare the meals in a way you once did. It can become a bone of contention if your partner cannot fulfil your dietary needs to the same extent you can.
“By all means have a clear say in what you are prepared to consume and not consume, but as a team venture, you will need to adapt at times, and have understanding for the other person’s perspective. Yes, you need the primary care and attention, but consider that is may not really be possible to fulfil every need and demand as it arises,” advises Maria Unthank, a psychologist at Boomessays and UKWritings.
Listen to your body.
One of the deepest frustrations felt by expectant mothers can be the way that the irrational body somehow usurps the rational mind in times of pregnancy. This is the reality. So even if you feel somehow compromised in your principles in the way that your hunger is manifesting, you would do right to listen to your body. Energy will be an issue, so try to consume more of those foods that provide you with that required energy. There are a great number of vegan-friendly foods that can do this (such as bananas or sweet potatoes). Listen to your body: it knows what it needs.
Nourish yourself immediately after the birth.
Immediately after the birth is another crucial time. Some mothers choose to consume their placenta, for example, as it is rich in nutrients that the body has lost during the delivery, as well as it being great for raising your energy levels. If this is too extreme for you, then dose up on those natural goodies that you know your body responds to. Maintaining a healthy diet (perhaps the one that you always loved before you became pregnant) is vital once your baby has arrived. And if your tastes have slightly changed, embrace them too.
Chloe Bennet is a health blogger at Academic Writing Service and Write My Papers websites. She writes about family, relationships and digestion. Also, Chloe teaches how to write successful blog posts at Paper Fellows portal.
