Vegan breastfeeding has caused an 11-month-old baby to die and the parents are charged with neglect after an autopsy indicated the baby suffered from severe deficiencies in Vitamin B12 and Vitamin A. Both these nutrients are known to be critical to a child’s development and sorely lacking in a vegan diet. This is why doctors strongly advise against nursing mothers and growing children following a vegan diet (1).
Vegans have long been advised to take B12 supplements as long term veganism runs the huge risk of serious B12 deficiency as well as other nutrients only found in animal foods such as true Vitamin A. Â Beta carotene is not true vitamin AÂ nor does it easily convert to adequate amounts of Vitamin A in the body to sustain optimal health.
While charging the parents in this tragedy is questionable as it smacks of too much interference by government into private life, it does communicate a clear message to other vegans:Â abstinence from all animal foods is a danger to one’s health and most particularly, your baby!
It also sends a clear message that what a nursing Mother eats definitely DOES affect the quality of her breastmilk, particularly with vegan breastfeeding. Many breastfeeding advocates insist that breastmilk will include all a baby needs despite what the Mother eats, but clearly this is not the case.
Traditional cultures took great care to ensure that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers consumed ample amounts of animal foods rich in vitamins A, D, E, K2 and of course B12. These foods included grass-fed butter, pastured eggs, liver, seafood, and fish eggs. Notice that none – NOT ONE of these traditionally sacred foods is plant-based!
Incidentally, the 2017 vegan film What The Health was unable to cite a single successful vegan population group either. Why? Because there are none. Ever.
If you are pregnant and breastfeeding and would like to learn what foods will maximally support the health of your baby while nursing, please check this link for the complete listing of traditionally sacred foods for optimal fetal and baby development. These foods will also ensure the preservation of your own health during pregnancy and lactation which can easily deplete a Mother’s nutritional stores leaving her vulnerable to exhaustion.
Vegan Parents Convicted
The vegan breastfeeding mother and father whose baby died as described in this article were convicted by a French court to 5 years in prison due to the imbalanced vegan diet the mother ate which led to nutrient-poor breastmilk and a failure to thrive child who eventually fell ill from severe nutrient deficiency and died without the parents ever seeking proper medical attention (source).
For more information on how vegan breastfeeding and also a vegan diet devastate the health of children, read about how a 12-year-old vegan was diagnosed with the degenerating bones of an 80-year-old.  Dr. Faisal Ahmed MD, a pediatrician treating the child, said that the dangers of forcing children to follow a strict vegan diet need to be publicized.
Unfortunately, vegan parents don’t seem to be getting the message quickly enough. The latest case involves vegans who nearly starved their 5-month-old baby to death feeding him potato mash instead of the doctor advised organic formula.
The child, who weighed just over 8 pounds and had sunken eyes and protruding ribs, is recovering but will likely suffer long-term damage from the experience (source).
References
Angelina Jolie says veganism nearly killed her
Supersize Me Girlfriend Quits VeganismÂ
Vitamin A Vagary
Vitamin B12: Vital Nutrient for Good Health
French vegan couple whose baby died of vitamin deficiency after being fed solely on breast milk face jail for child neglect
“parents are charged with neglect” Who the heck gives permission to charge a parent after losing their child? Are the Gov out of their damn mind?
Have you thought about the fact that if nothing is done to the parents that this might just happen again? I would hate to think they get away with this and have another child and allow it to die the same way. That there is MURDER plain and simple, they had to have known and yet did nothing to prevent that poor child’s death!
PERFECT response! YES!! Every vegan I know is very educated and pays very close attention to their signals from their body and is practically militant in safeguarding the health of their children by making sure their diet is extremely healthy and well-rounded. This parents were prosecuted for being “hippies” in my opinion. Thanks for this wonderful response.
Humans started out as vegetarians, they were scavengers collecting plant based foods until they acquired the knowledge to hunt for food so yes veganism and vegetarianism is as natural a diet as eating meat is now. That being said, my friend of 22 years has been a non meat eater and on/of vegan since she was 14. She breastfed both her boys for two years. She raised them as vegan and never allowed them refined sugars or foods until they were old enough to choose what they wanted to eat. Their father was a meat eater so eventually the boys opted to add meat to their diet (the mother never attempted to stop them) but now one of them who is a young adult has chosen to be vegan again. Both her boys are healthy kids, they are now 16 and 19. She did her homework. She took her kids to see doctors and busted a nut ensuring her boys stayed healthy. Vegans are not ignorant people. They can be, but so can meat eaters. If anything, I think main stream eaters can be equally ignorant as they don’t question what they eat much. Hence why we have an epidemic of obesity and diabetes. Those that choose not to eat meat or animal products make their decision based on what they feel is right for them and have to do a lot more homework on getting around nutritional deficiencies. That being said, I have another friend who had a baby 6 months ago. She is a meat eater and uber conscious about nutrition. She stays away from processed foods but eats a typical diet. A month or two after her boy was born, she was still breast feeding her baby regularly but her baby’s weight dropped suddenly. Even though the baby was getting lots of milk, something was interfering with the nutrition she was passing on. I can’t remember what it was exactly but now she has to take meds to keep her milk production at what it should be. She has some serious side effects because of it but she does what she has to for her baby so yes meat eating breast feeding moms can encounter nutritional imbalances too. That being said, I am a meat eater but I am a also a high oxidizer so my body type requires a high protein diet. Other body types do quite well on a vegan diet. I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to judge the choices others make with their own health. I have a high degree of respect for vegans, it’s not an easy diet to sustain, I know I tried it. For those that think veganism is stupid and unfounded check out Annette Larkins and maybe you will understand why some people choose to be vegan in the first place. http://www.annettelarkins.com/
Sarah are you kidding when you say this? “While I’m not sure I favor charging the parents in this tragedy as it smacks of Big Brother far too much for my comfort level”
It has nothing to do with “Big Brother” what it has to do with are parents who were negligent, wonder if you think the parents who refuse to see doctors and pray instead shouldn’t be charged with crimes either?
Both parents should be charged to the fullest extent of the law.
Just a comment – it is not true as this article says that breastfeeding mothers are told it doesn’t matter what you eat your baby gets all it needs from breastmilk. In fact breastfeeding and pregnant mothers alike are constantly being told to eat a healthy balanced diet – in this way the baby gets all it needs from mother’s milk!
OMG! First of all, all the hatred towards people who choose to follow a vegan diet is really unwarranted, and there ARE ways to be pregnant and BF on a vegan diet. How come parents who choose to formula feed and the formula kills their baby (yes, it happens!) aren’t prosecuted for feeding them something totally unnatural instead of breastmilk? How come moms who BF but are living on a diet of McD’s and Whoppers aren’t charged with neglect when their children are found to have dietary deficiencies? How come people will get all up in arms over this, but will turn a blind eye to the obese 5 year olds at the McD’s playground? If y’all think that these parents were so awful, why aren’t you calling child services on every 80 lb 4 year old you see on the street? Get off you high horses and be a little sensitive? “Alternative” choices are always persecuted but the status quo, no matter how neglectful and unhealthy, is still considered the “best.” No doubt this is sad, no doubt these parents probably should have been more proactive in making sure their baby was of sound health and wellness, but until you all are ready to hold ALL parents accountable for “poor” choices (like formula feeding, elective c-sections that kill the babies, etc) you all need to just shut up!
You’ve raised some very good and valid points and good on you for calling out the “judgers”.
Breastfeeding advocates insist (because it is backed up with ample evidence) that mothers eating a COMPLETE diet will produce breastmilk that meets babies growth and development needs. It is in every preparatory course to become a lactation educator, counselor, IBCLC etc. that strict vegan mothers be referred to an RD, preferably one who is also an IBCLC, for counseling in ensuring that adequate micronutrients and calories are maintained. This is a tragic illustration of lack of support and education both prenatally and after birth, as well as unnecessary bashing of a lifestyle choice which is frequently managed in such a way as to support a healthy, thriving infant.
B-12 deficiency is as common in meat eaters as it is in vegans. Even if you eat clean. Look it up. Do your homework and get your blood work done. B-12 deficiency is common for those who lack the “intrinsic factor” which is the inability to absorb b-12 no matter how you consume it. Doctors can test to see whether your body has the normal ability to absorb B-12. “Do you lack the intrinsic factor”. get tested. Research how a high fat diet reduces B-12 absorption.
Even though I’m not vegan or vegetarian, this does worry me (if it’s true), but I can’t help but wonder if the doctors were lazy and jumped to conclusions the second the mother admit she was vegan. There might have been other factors at play, but in my experience with most doctors nowadays is they work off a system, make a lot of assumptions and generally don’t care. Maybe there are successful vegan mothers out there and this is just one case out of many that went sour. Meat-eating mothers can have sick and dying babies too.
What is the problem? Vegans eliminating themselves from the gene pool. I’m not sad.
wow! How hateful can you be? People make different choices in their eating and make mistakes and you are basically saying that because YOU don’t agree with their lifestyle choice that it is good that their baby died? How heartless and cruel can you be? What if it was a normal omni mom and her baby died of some other kind of dietary complication, would you be so cruel. You are heartless and hateful.
Michelle C, what No Vegan said is that Vegans are an awful bore and that they hold everyone who does not adopt their Vegan lifestyle as the dregs of the Earth. While I find No Vegans’ post in poor taste I also find it totally appropriate considering how bigoted your average Movement Vegan is towards non Vegans.