-----Added 4/8/2008 at 01 : 44 : 02-----
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColonelSpecial
...In order to starve a six week old child, you are giving it nothing to eat...
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Or you are giving them bottles of water (or diluted formula). Water will flush out necessary nutrients from a newborn's system. Though water consumption can lead to seizures as well - which would hopefully tip the parents off long before malnutrition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CinnamonGirl
...So, yeah, breastfeeding is fine...
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But that raises the question: Is a woman on a vegan diet capable of producing milk? It is difficult enough for a woman to produce milk when they are an omnivore. Even so, one must be concerned that the milk a vegan mother can produce might be grossly lacking in essential vitamins.
Here is a brief article from WebMD regarding the topic:
Quote:
Mom's Vegan Diet May Put Baby at Risk
Vitamin B-12 Deficiency in Breast Milk Causes Serious Problems for Infants
Jan. 30, 2003 -- Mothers on a vegan diet could be putting their babies at risk for developmental problems.
The CDC has documented two cases of neurological impairment in babies who were breastfed by mothers on a vegan diet, which does not allow any meat, fish, seafood, or dairy in the diet. The babies suffered from a deficiency of vitamin B-12, even though both mothers claimed to have taken supplements, says the report, which appears in the Jan. 31 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Case 1. A 15-month-old girl was hospitalized for anemia and a condition called "failure to thrive," which means that the child was not developing properly for her age. Blood tests revealed that the child had a vitamin B-12 deficiency.
The girl had been breastfed for eight months by a mother who was following a vegan diet and who took nutritional and vitamin supplements. When the girl started eating solid food, she vomited often and showed a poor appetite for organic whole-grain cereals and fruit shakes her parents tried to feed her.
In the hospital, doctors tried nose-tube feedings and solid food. The child also got shots of B-12 for three days. During that time, she had seizures that ended without medication. An MRI brain scan showed that her brain had shrunk.
At 28 months, her developmental skills were that of a 9-month-old. In speech and language development, she lagged by more than a year behind normal children.
By her third birthday, the child's developmental progress had improved. However, she continued to have problems, especially in speech and language, says the report.
Case 2. A 3-year-old boy also was diagnosed with failure to thrive and developmental delays. He had been breastfed exclusively for the first nine months by a mother who ate a vegetarian diet with reportedly very little meat, fish, or dairy products.
When the child was given solid food, his healthcare provider and his parents became concerned about his growth and development. He was then given fruit and dried cereals to stimulate his growth. When this was unsuccessful, he had an operation to improve his ability to chew and swallow. He still didn't grow properly. He couldn't tolerate soy or cow's-milk formulas. His parents then gave him a multigrain nondairy formula and fruits, vegetables, chicken, vitamin supplements, and a product called "Greens Plus."
Because of his poor motor and speech development at 11 months, his pediatrician ordered genetic and metabolic tests and recommended speech, occupational, and physical therapies. He was finally diagnosed with vitamin B-12 deficiency and was given B-12 shots every two weeks and B-12 pills to suck on every day.
Six months later, the child had slight speech and fine motor skill problems. However, he has caught up in motor skill development.
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Every mother (and father) should provide for their children's nutrition as best as their faculties will allow. I believe the people mentioned in the article cited by the OP should be labeled as child abusers and not vegans. Though I will support the media's effort to convince people to think twice about their children's diet.
I'm a vegetarian who is planning on going pescatarian when pregnant and breastfeeding. This is mainly due to studies I have read and lectures I have attended by researchers who have studied the developmental benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids during pregnancy. Perhaps I will read studies between now and then that will convince me to go omnivore for my children's health. I have no aversion to cooking poultry and fish for my omnivore husband and plan on doing the same for our children. My choice to be Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian is entirely my own. As a matter of principle, I do not impose it upon others - especially those dependent upon me for care.