7 Tips for a Healthy Vegan Pregnancy

As a vegan mum, I want to share my top tips for a healthy vegan pregnancy with you as it might help you on your healthy vegan mama journey too. I have been vegan for almost 7 years which means I was vegan when I got pregnant with my first child and naturally had a vegan pregnancy, breastfed for over 3 years whilst vegan and was vegan for my second pregnancy and now breastfeeding whilst being vegan. Safe to say I have felt good throughout all those stages of motherhood whilst being vegan.

That being said, I want to make it clear that I am a naturally health-conscious person, whether vegan or not. Prioritising my health has always been easy for me, it is something I am passionate about and I grew up in a family with a healthy mindset towards food, hobbies and exercise. So before I became vegan I was still focused on doing what is best for my body. When I became vegan it was for health reasons as I had started having issues with food which turned out to be linked to animal products. I felt a million times better eating plant-based food and have not looked back since 7 years later.

Eating good food, healthy food, nourishing food is of utmost importance to me. I want to thrive and feel good. I want to enjoy what I eat whilst it is fuel that energises me, digests well, supports a body I love and leaves me feeling satisfied in mind and body. Eating healthy vegan food certainly gives me all of those things and 100% can be achieved for a healthy vegan pregnancy.

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Check out 10 Healthy Habits for Women in Your 30s.

7 Tips for a Healthy Vegan Pregnancy

Here I am going to share some of my top tips that helped me during my two healthy vegan pregnancies and felt amazing.

To be honest, I don’t do anything majorly different from life outside of pregnancy and being pregnant. I make a few tweaks, but in reality life is very similar to a baby being in my body or not.

1 – Eat Fresh Wholefoods

Focus on eating wholesome plant-based wholefoods for a healthy vegan pregnancy. What does that look like you may ask? Here are some example foods:

2 – Specific Nutrients

When it comes to being vegan and then throwing pregnancy into the mix, eating a wholesome nutritious diet filled with fresh plant-based foods is important. One of the reasons for doing this is that it gives the body various nutrients to help the body thrive. Whether vegan or not vegan, it is important to eat a diet rich in nutrients, and one can easily be lacking in nutrients no matter the type of diet. That being said, we are talking about a healthy vegan pregnancy so let’s take a look at a few essential nutrients to be mindful of eating through delicious food.

What vitamins do pregnant vegans need?

For a healthy vegan pregnancy focus on vitamins and minerals through a variety of foods as suggested in the lists above. Many of the foods above contain important nutrients listed below. Here are examples of foods that contain essential nutrients to boost health during pregnancy.

3 – Get Educated

One of the best things you can do to learn about having a healthy vegan pregnancy is to get educated and do your own research. Read books, look online and speak to others if you know any other vegan women/mums. Compile as much information as possible to get your own perspective and opinion on it all, this helps to base your own intuition, research and general health practices best for you and your baby.

This is also helpful if you have friends or family who have a differing opinion on a vegan pregnancy and you can be well equipped with information to support your own decisions.

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4 – Got Cravings?

If you experience cravings when pregnant this is an important sign to pay attention to what your body (and baby) are telling you. What is your body telling you? How do you feel? What foods are you craving?

I never had any major or weird cravings with my pregnancies. In my first pregnancy in the first trimester over the span of 2 weeks I wanted orange juice, grapes, tinned tomatoes, olives, and fresh good quality sourdough bread. I ate those foods and felt good. After that 2 week span, I noticed there were a few foods I wanted on top of my normal foods. I wouldn’t really call them cravings, just I noticed I wanted those foods and by adding them in weekly I felt great. I wanted avocado, big crunchy green salads, tinned tomatoes (still!), pasta and lots, and I mean LOTS, of oranges. Those foods appeared a lot throughout my first pregnancy and I ate them and felt great for eating them. The key is to listen to your body and eat mindfully with those signals.

If I was craving junk food, non-vegan food, or something else out of the ordinary for me, then first I would have dived deeper into my body. Do I need more of certain nutrients from food? Am I eating enough calories? Enough fats? Enough vegetables? I would start there and then see if those cravings subsided. Generally, cravings come from a lack of nutrients and/or calories – whether pregnant or not.

Check out Healthy Vegan Porridge Recipe and Vegan Sweet Potato Muffins.

In my second pregnancy, I had a 1 to 2 week span in the first trimester of wanting more cooked food instead of salads for lunch and I honoured that. I wanted tinned tomatoes (again!) alongside rice and veggies. I didn’t crave eating meat or having animals, but I did want more vegan cheese and vegan sausages with the occasional vegan burger. After a couple of weeks that passed and no longer wanted that at all. I did want more fresh fruit and vegetables every day and I honoured that and felt truly satisfied. I had no cravings.

I do believe that due to eating a vegan plant-based wholefood diet I eat a variety of foods that are packed with nutrients that satisfy and satiate my body, therefore I don’t get cravings. I eat plenty of food so my body gets enough calories.

Before reaching for all the unhealthy options if getting those kinds of cravings, first, take a look at what you ARE eating and see if you need to add extra nutrition and/or calories.

5 – Natural Nausea Remedies

With my first pregnancy, I didn’t experience any nausea. I think I had a day or two where I felt a bit off in my stomach very early on in the pregnancy but that was it. In the second pregnancy, again I didn’t really have major nausea symptoms but a little more than the last time. My stomach was a bit off over a 1 to 2 week span in the early weeks. Some days it felt normal, other days digestion wasn’t as good which affected my appetite, and then some days I felt a bit off in my stomach. It wasn’t nausea and I was never sick.

What helped me get through that time was eating simple foods to help digestion. On the days it didn’t feel as good I would eat just fruit for breakfast, rice with tinned tomatoes and a little cooked vegetables for lunch and then similar for dinner. This simple approach to my nutrition helped a lot. On top of this, I would inhale a little peppermint essential oil which really helped settle that uneasy feeling in my stomach.

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6 – Exercise Regularly

This is not specific to a healthy vegan pregnancy, this is general advice for a healthy pregnancy, move your body. Now is not the time to start CrossFit, powerlifting or training for a marathon, but you can and should prioritise your body.

If you exercised before getting pregnant, then keep moving the body but adjust the type of exercise to be appropriate for pregnancy. If you didn’t exercise before pregnancy, it is recommended to seek professional advice first as to whether you should start exercising now, this is because it is new to your body and your body is already doing something different with growing a baby and it might be too much throwing something else into the mix that your body isn’t used to.

I have always been active since the day I can remember so it is very normal for me to be active no matter what phase of my life. In my first pregnancy, before I got pregnant I walked every day with the dogs, had been doing strength training for a long time and transitioned into yoga. When pregnant I continued walking every day with the dogs and did yoga but changed the style from vinyasa to prenatal yoga and did it 1-2x a week rather than 4x a week.

In the second pregnancy, before I got pregnant I walked the dogs most days of the week (normally 5x a week) and did yoga when I could around mum life. My activity levels have changed a lot since being a mummy and just my general outlook on life and my body. I still walked the dogs daily and did prenatal yoga 1-2x a week.

During pregnancy, my personal opinion is to listen to your body and at the same time respect the body and the growing baby. I truly don’t understand or see it as a time to do intense exercise or rigorous workouts. As a personal trainer and with an extensive background in weight lifting I understand fitness goals and the desire for certain workouts, at the same time my personal and professional opinion is to honour the body and nourish it with wholesome exercise that truly makes you and baby feel good.

7 – Eat Enough

This goes without saying, but I will say it anyway, eat enough food for a healthy vegan pregnancy. This does not mean to “eat for two” and just eat for the sake of it because of being pregnant. I am not going to recommend a certain number of calories you should eat and how many extra calories to eat per trimester as it is not my place to do so.

However, if you have cravings, feel tired, iron levels are low, are super cranky (don’t just blame that on pregnancy hormones!!), or can’t stop thinking about food, these are signs that your body is probably telling you to eat more. Generally, in the first trimester, you might not want to eat more than your usual, but as the second trimester hits you may find you want a little extra. That little extra may be adding a bit more at breakfast and dinner, or adding in a snack during the day. You might find you need a bit more again in the third trimester, pay attention to your body, and increase if needed. This might be another snack or making a meal or two a little bigger.

If you are hungry eat. If you are stuffed don’t force yourself to eat just because you’ve read somewhere that you “should” eat an extra 500 calories. Funnily enough, in my first pregnancy, I was eating about an extra 500 calories towards the end of the pregnancy and I felt great, it’s what my body needed and I honoured that.

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Questions about a Healthy Vegan Pregnancy

Can a vegan have a healthy baby?

Yes absolutely! By my experience alone, I have had two healthy babies after being vegan when pregnant. Everyone has different experiences, there might be some women who don’t feel healthy when pregnant as a vegan and there could be multiple reasons why. At the same time, there are many vegan women who have healthy vegan pregnancies and healthy babies.

Check out Ellen Fisher. She is a mum of 4, vegan for 15 years, had 4 healthy vegan pregnancies and breastfed them all.

What is the best vegan prenatal vitamin?

First and foremost, I believe it is important to focus on wholesome foods. Eating an abundance of plant-based wholefoods will help to boost the body with lots of nutrients. However, if you do need vegan supplements my favourite brand is Cytoplan. Not all their supplements are vegan, but they do offer a good variety including Pregna-Plan which is recommended for pregnancy and breastfeeding. Get £10 off your first order here.

Healthy Vegan Pregnancy

Having a healthy vegan pregnancy is possible. Getting educated, being well informed of all options, eating an abundance of plant-based vegan wholefoods and taking good care of your health can help to have a wonderful pregnancy. Are you pregnant? Are you a vegan mum? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Leave a comment below and let me know if you have had or are planning a vegan pregnancy.

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