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Viral Vegan Pregnancy: Mom-To-Be Urged by Husband To Eat Meat For ‘Health’

by Gabriella Anaya | March 27, 2019

Last week on Mumsnet, an online parenting website, user ElizabethForever expressed her concern over a certain request that her husband had for her vegan pregnancy– for her to incorporate meat into her diet for the unborn child’s health. As a lifelong vegan, this request from her omnivore husband was well, uncalled for. Keep reading to learn more about this story.

Viral Vegan Pregnancy: Mom-To-Be Urged by Husband To Eat Meat For ‘Health’

Gaining tons of comments and sparking a ton of controversy, the user tells a story of how her husband has requested that she eats meat. She begins by mentioning that she and her siblings were raised vegan by their parents and that for the most part, her husband also follows a vegan diet. However, she claims to “have never stopped him eating the food he wants to eat” but any non-vegan foods he eats are to be kept in the garage where there is a fridge and a freezer.

In her post, OP (original poster) writes, “I am in the very, very early stages of pregnancy and since we found out DH (darling husband) keeps making hints that I should be eating meat to keep the baby healthy.” She continues with sharing that she has never had previous problems with iron but she has also never been pregnant before. ElizabethForever wonders if her stance on vegan pregnancy is unreasonable or not, so she turns to the Mumsnet community for input on what she should do.

Comments on her post were split evenly, for the most part between her continuing to follow the vegan lifestyle that she had dedicated her life to and to incorporating animal products in her diet for the baby-to-be’s health.

Among the supportive comments, one she received said: “Having a baby is an anxious time for everyone.” She believes that the husband may just have the baby’s best interest in mind and may have expressed it in a weird way. The commenter continued by offering advice that the OP should make sure that she takes an iron level test, as she thinks all pregnant women should.

A different commenter on the post sides with the OP’s DH and says, “I think he has the baby’s best interests at heart. You may be willing to put your body under strain but the baby shouldn’t suffer.”

ElizabethForever, we support you on your vegan pregnancy journey and wish you only the best!

When you were pregnant, did your spouse (or other family members, for that matter) try to encourage you to eat meat “for the baby’s health”? Let me know in the comments below.