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
Carrot, squash and sweet potato are some of the best sources of vitamin a, so someone with a vegan diet needn’t have an issue getting the recommended intake. However fat and zinc are required for efficient absorption which probably was an issue. B12 is also hard to find in the vegan diet. Still seems a bit french to charge them.
This baby just needed some Olive Garden.
This is not an issue of vegan vs. omnivore . . . this is an issue of ignorance and neglect, which, by the way, I see plenty of in parents who eat meat. Making this a “vegan” issue is in-and-of-itself ignorant.
This should frighten every parent because if your child is obese, ADHD, skinny, etc. you too could be charged with neglect. I don’t know the facts in this case so I’m hypothesizing, but take “vegan” out of the equation and you have something that affects every single parent.
There are many ways to breastfeed an infant while being vegan, but they ALL include eating FERMENTED soy, nutritional yeast, and other foods to properly nourish an infant. Even meat-eating mothers must supplement with iron and a multivitamin while breastfeeding. There is a lot of SCIENCE behind all of it. Chances are, just eating tofu and vegetables is not going to give you enough FAT or CHOLESTEROL for a growing baby’s brain and nervous system. These are very important for babies to develop properly.
By the logic of this article and the French courts, we should also imprison every fat-American parent who eats too much high-fructose junk food when their breast-fed infant becomes diabetic before they are old enough to even pronounce the word… This article is biased and absurd; one inept vegan parent does not equate veganism to being unhealthy.
THANK YOU!! i was just trying to make this point the other day! just as many babies turn out unhealthy because the mother has a high fat diet due to eating too much meat? so by that logic eating meat and breastfeeding is murdering your baby too. its rediculous…
Anyone that mentioned that their doctors recommended a vegan diet is either full of shit or should change their pcp. Im a nurse and any SANE practitioner would never recommend a vegan diet. The body needs variety. Everything with moderation. THAT is the best diet. Blaming meat for disease and obesity exclusively is laughable and makes me shake my head at how warped one can become on a pamphlet they decide to read one day. Btw 7th day adventist are not necessarily vegetarian. We dont eat pork or any scavenger of the sea i.e. shrimp, crab. Read a little more before you post people!
And your nutrition degree came from where?
OMG so sad.
I still think idiots like these parents should be able to have a child.
All parents should go through exams before they are allowed. They are ruining our race as a whole.
I think the point that is being missed here is at the bottom of this article, “…died without the parents ever seeking proper medical attention.” This isn’t about whether or not it’s ok to be vegan and exclusively breastfeed, it’s about neglect. It takes a long time to die from malnutrition, there would have been signs, and the fact that they never sought medical attention is the real issue. I am a meat eater (lol), and don’t care what anyone else eats, this could have happened to anyone on any type of diet, if they ignored the warning signs and did not seek medical attention, then it’s neglect, period.