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
I am wondering why so many are mentioning the mother’s vegan diet but ignoring ALL the facts of the child’s health
“Medical experts told the court in Amiens that the vitamin deficiency could have been caused by an unbalanced diet. While anxious not to call into question the couple’s lifestyle, Anne-Laure Sandretto, the deputy prosecutor, admitted: “The problem with a vitamin B12 deficiency could be linked to the mother’s eating habits.”
The parents, who also have a 13-year-old daughter who was not found to be suffering from any deficiencies, said they became vegan after seeing a TV programme about “how animals were taken to abattoirs”, said the mother’s lawyer, Stephane Daquo.
At the time of their daughter’s death, they were running an organic food business and refused to eat any animal products. Daquo said they had a mistrust of traditional medicine and preferred to treat their children’s complaints with advice from books.
“The couple did not follow the doctor’s advice to take the baby to hospital when they went for her nine-month checkup and found she was suffering from bronchitis and was losing weight,” he said. Instead they treated her with cabbage poultices, mustard and camphor and washed her with earth and clay instead of giving her baths, the court heard.
Daquo said the couple had been reading “the wrong things at the wrong moment”. “They preferred to use recipes [treatment] based on clay or cabbage poultices that they got from their books,” he said.
The issues as I see them are more to do with parenting skills than diet. And no, I am not vegan!
http://www.rightwaytobegreen.com/2013/05/01/once-again-eat-meat-and-save-the-planet-and-yourself/
I don’t think that this “smacks of Big Brother far too much for my comfort level.” A child died because of this woman’s actions. This is no different than a parent not feeding a kid because they wanted to get a tattoo or for whatever reason. She knew what her child needed and chose not to do it. She’s at fault for the child’s death and received the punishment for it, not counting the fact that she will deal with the guilt every day for the rest of her life.
Hmm? I exclusively breastfed, although I am not vegan..I knew a few while I was mentoring and counseling other women for WIC. I did introduce solids to my children at their “interest” time..6 and 8 months respectively..these solids were NOT meat products until well after one year. One of my children is now grown and has been vegan for over 6 years.
Here’s what I find about veganism. Some vegans are not good at educating themselves on nutrition and their diet is political..now, before anyone freaks out, that’s not true of all. My daughter is very busy, but also very aware of the potential of deficiencies in her diet..much because so many of her loved ones warned her of lack of vitamins and minerals..as did I. She does focus on appropriate proteins..and other minerals.
The misnomer is that certain vitamins, minerals and proteins cannot be found in plant based foods..NOT TRUE..but these foods must be combined and eaten in certain measure to be absorbed appropriately.
It’s not an easy diet to follow, but you can certainly get the nutrients you need, if you pay attention and educate yourself.
My biggest concern is 1) The parents in this article MUST have noticed something was wrong, yet they did not seek medical care..simple injections of certain vitamins and minerals could have managed dietary deficiencies. 2) That something metabolic or congenital was going on and once the baby was deceased, the coroner went with what was in front of him. Again, could have possibly been found in a pediatric check up.
A baby suffering from these deficiencies does NOT LOOK OKAY!!
Sorry but these parents neglected their stewardship. I feel for their heart, I’m sure they loved their baby, but not enough to put him first. SO SAD.
I cannot believe the ignorance of many of the comments on this page. It is perfectly safe to raise children as vegans, they just need a variety of different foods. It is easy to be vegan and still be unhealthy.
There is still no clear evidence, but I don’t think eating animals is a good way to live. The same as you eat your own dog as food. In fact, Babies dying from non vegan mom is more than vegan.
Because there are more babies born to a non vegan mother. There is high mortality rate for new born in under developed African nation. The mothers there do not have a choice to be a vegan. So this rake up the count of babies dying from non vegan mother.
So where was the doctor in all this? I know some doctors tell you not to start feeding a baby, baby food until they are 6 months and some say 12 months. With the push that breast feeding is better than bottle feeding I have yet to read anywhere that being a meat eater or a vegetarian makes a difference in the health of a baby. Nor I have I read that mothers who are vegetarian lack the needed Vitamins to breed feed a baby for more than 6 months are longer without introducing baby food to the diet.
This is something that need to be stressed over and over again on the news, internet and in the doctor’s office because no mother who carries a child for 9 months want to learn like this mother did that because of the way she ate it killed her child. The blame for this child’s death should not be laid at the mothers feed but at the doctor’s and the medical field that knows and have known this information.
Terra, from the article, it seems the mother did not seek medical intervention. You can’t blame a doctor that was never sought.
This baby must have been sick a long time before dying. So his parents are responsible for not giving him the needed medical care; the doctors who knew about the situation and did not intervene are also responsible for the outcome. Many vegans have healthy kids, most will not exclusively breast fed till that age and will get medical help if needed for their kids.