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
Ummm….What this article neglects to offer is by whom this mother herself was charged with ‘neglect’ and by what authority and where it is in the world this occured….So Sarah, would this be too much to ask you to provide in your story?
I offer little opinon on other people’s dietery habits as myself I eat just about everything which could be considered edible. Howerver this is maybe one of the hollow and opinionated articles I’ve ever read.
Yes, could you please site your sources? Where and when was this mother charged, and what, exactly, did her diet include? We need to know so many additional fact before we make all of these judgements… vegan or not!
Thanks!
I blame the doctor actually… knowing that the mother was vegan, they should have told her that she needs to supplement to have enough vitamins for her child. It isn’t her fault, she didn’t know that what she was doing was wrong. I was already told that being vegan while breastfeeding can be tricky because you don’t get enough vitamins, but the milk is actually a lot healthier than the milk of a mother who eats animal products. We didn’t originally eat animal products to begin with, we ate fruits and vegetables. I am currently breastfeeding, and my daughter has problems with acid reflex. Her pediatrician said that I should cut diary products from my diet to help with her acid reflex. So yes, it is plausible that vegan mothers have better breast milk. As I said, it isn’t her fault that the doctor wasn’t informed as to what vitamins were needed. She didn’t neglect her child, she was doing what she felt was right. They are going to charge her with neglect, yet CPS doesn’t take children from meth addicts. I was told in the hospital that they have seen many babies go home with mothers who tested positive for every drug in the book… and guess what? They still have their children. In my opinion, it is worse for your child to be alive and be a drug baby than it is for them to die when you were trying your best. The point is, at least this mother CARED enough to even breastfeed. Most would just give the baby formula. So how about you consider that before you say that she was a bad mom.
Most vegans I have encountered act like members of an elitist, freak-cult. When someone eats a salad, you generally don’t see people act grossed-out or get all preachy about the treatment of vegetables or pesticides. However, eat a steak in front of a vegan and you’re in for a show, and a good lecturing!
“they all seem to be flourishing with good health- perhaps we’re just flukes ”
That’s probably because they are taking the suppliments necessary to sustain their _natural_ eating habits. Although I have yet to find the magical Suppliment Bush where I would acquire these additional vitamins and minerals if I were to live off the land, so to speak.
ALso ex Vegan. ALMOSt DESTORYED ME! SAVE YOUR SELF.DONT BE STUPID. GOD SAID EAT MEAT!!!! EXCERCISE AND DONT EAT PROCESSED FOODS AND YOU WILL BE GREAT. 8 MONTHS STILL RECOVERING FROM 4 MONTHS VEGAN. IT SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sarah writes, “Breastmilk from vegan mothers is inferior to the breastmilk of omnivore mothers.” I find this statement severely disturbing on numerous levels. The most disturbing being the lack of inclusion of any scientific evidence to support ANY statement made by Sarah, actually by anyone, thus far. I fear people may be relying on you, Sarah, for information and you have grossly misinformed everyone who has read this blog and your comments hereto. By providing nutritional guidance, which you have attempted to do in many of your replies to comments, you have a moral obligation to provide accurate information, as opposed to simply spouting your “beliefs”. But have no fear half-ass blogger. Much to my dismay, I have done the legwork for you. I have provided you with a link to Debra S. Penney’s scientific study, “Nutritional Counseling for Vegetarians During Pregnancy and Lactation”, published in the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health Jan-Feb, 2008, vol 53(1), Pages:44. I have provided a link to the study below. If you are unable to access the study, it is an indication you do not have the creditionals to do so, which is also an indication you are lacking of the credentials to provide opinions for, or give advice to, anyone regarding nutrition. http://tinyurl.com/7stpzq5
Vitamin B12 is formed in bacteria – vegans used to have no issue getting this when we ate straight from the ground and didn’t use so many herbicides and pesticides and be so obsessive about cleaning our fruit and veges.
Meat eaters have such good B12 levels because meat is full of bacteria and the animals they eat have good levels because the a feed on pastures which they poo on – meaning bacteria!
The issue is not that there are no non-animal sources of B12, the issue is that our food production and prep these days is too clean and steralized. Vegans know to take suppliments for this reason, and this shouldnt have happened.
I find it hilariously funny that Vegans and mill-run-vegetarians are always railing against one form of civilized modern amenities or the other. Why if they can’t savage GMOs or other modern farming practices their heads would explode. Yet the very Vegan-Enviro-Vegetarianism lobby that preach the loudest against “Chemicals” in our food, are the very group who would drop dead first without so called NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS (Hidden chemicals) lurking in their Franking food.
I agree that state intervention and punishment is adding insult to injury in this distressing time of losing a child. The story does serve as a warning of the worst case consequences of malnutrition in infants due to malnutrition of a nursing mother. Cases such as this happen all the time in countries with severe famine, but in a country where food is abundant it raises questions over choice in our diet. We have so much choice of food and yet choose to eat the wrong things in many cases, but most mothers usually completely change when pregnant and nursing to accommodate for the needs of their baby. This is a sad example of not doing that. I am not anti-vegetarian, but I do believe that parents are responsible for a child’s nutrition and should not choose to deprive them due to their own morality.
I would like to point out that according to this article there is no indication that, while the baby may have “suffered” from deficiencies in those nutrients, those deficiencies were the cause of death. I’m saying this from a neutral stand point, and I would really like to know what exactly was the cause of death.
It is difficult to remain objective while discussing emotionally charged subjects, however we must do so if we hope to ever learn from our mistakes.
Many of the responses I’ve read have been wrong, so I just stopped reading them quite honestly. Most health professionals know that the key to good nutrition is a balanced diet. That means eating vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and meats/poultry. Everyone should limit their intake of sugars, oils and fats. It’s about balance, and what works for one person may not work for another. If you choose to not eat a balanced diet, and eliminate animal products, you have to take supplements and consult with a physician. Just because you consume animal products, though, does not mean you are healthy. Many Americans fail to eat leafy veggies, lean meats, etc and require supplements too. So there’s not to say that the vegan diet is any better or worse, but it isn’t a “balanced” diet. And people should stop using words like “natural” and “Standard American diet”. These words aren’t regulated and there really isn’t must truth to them! The fact of the matter is that human beings need to eat certain foods because our bodies just don’t make certain vitamins and minerals. If you choose not to eat those foods, or the wrong amounts of those foods, you’re putting yourself at risk. Live with it and stop pointing fingers! And when it comes to parenting, you really should strive to feed your child a well-rounded diet so that they can get off to a healthy start until they are physically capable and mature enough to make their own lifestyle decisions.
The reason of the baby’s deficiency of the needed nutrients is NOT ‘vegan’ mother, nor ‘breastfeeding’!!!
The reason of the baby’s death is, in simplest words, ‘starvation’!!!
When a baby reaches SIX MONTHS old, she can no longer SOLELY depend on milk (whether it is formula or real milk from mother); instead, she has to start consuming SOLID food, in a progressive way, of course.
By ELEVEN months, if a baby is only fed with MILK, *starvation* occurs not for no reason.
By saying this, I would like to point out that the focus of this report has been shifted, from the REAL (major) cause of the problem.