Hi everybody! I am Melanie Raposo, and welcome to Mommy's Minute. If you are pregnant and a vegetarian, you may be wondering, is it safe to follow a vegetarian diet.
A vegetarian or vegan diet is perfectly healthy during your pregnancy, as long as you are getting the right amount of calories and nutritional needs that pregnancy demands. Women should have at least 300 additional calories per day, and consume at lest 1,000 mg of calcium per day. You can do this by eating tofu or drinking soy milk and eating lots of leafy greens.
Vitamin D is also essential in your baby's development. To increase your vitamin D you can just simply sit in the sun for 20 to 30 minutes a day, three times a week. A lot of vegetarians are also lacking iron in their diets. So it's important to eat fortified breads and cereals, and lots of nuts and seeds.
If you feel that you can't get the appropriate amount of nutrients from your food, you may want to consider getting nutritional supplements, but be sure to consult your healthcare provider first.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services