Vitamin “awesome, I can’t be happily Vegan any more”! That’s what I called it when I found out about Vitamin B12.
So I don’t eat meat on Fridays and Saturdays. I reduced it from a full vegan diet about a year and half back. Reason perhaps is less the pregnancy and more a risk of having a Vitamin B12 deficiency.
For vegan moms out there (talk to your health provider and) get some Vitamin B12 as it is almost exclusively found in animal sources like meat, fish and dairy products – so chances are high that you might have a deficiency.
Why is Vitamin B12 important? And how much of it is needed?
According to Helsana (Swiss Health Insurance Company) website: “The body needs vitamin B12 for several reasons, including to renew cells, form blood and to keep the nervous system working properly. It also plays an important role in energy metabolism. As the body can’t make vitamin B12 itself, it needs to get it from food. (…) The recommended daily amount of vitamin B12 for adults is 4 micrograms. During pregnancy, this increases to 4.5 micrograms and when breastfeeding, to 5.5 micrograms. According to the 2012 Swiss Nutrition Report (Schweizerischer Ernährungsbericht), the average daily allowance is 6 micrograms.”
Hence my decision to reduce meat intake (which collides perfectly with my spiritual/religious practice) rather than eliminating it fully.
Talk to your health provider and get some prescribed. Postpartum is not to be taken lightly. If you want to be up and running, fully functional within 4months of having a baby – then focus on yourself and your health as much as you focus on the little love of your life you’ve birthed.
ANTHROPOLOGY OF LOVE 