[Childbearingyears_news] Babies' Mental Delay Tied to Moms' Vegan Diet

[Guest guest]

Stuff that we already know, but I'm sharing b/c I love

that they are such strong advocates of

vegetarians/vegans breastfeeding.

Warmly,

Allison

 

>

>

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews & storyID=2143862

>

> Babies' Mental Delay Tied to Moms' Vegan Diet

> Thu January 30, 2003 04:40 PM ET

> By Alison McCook

> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The breast-fed infants

> of two mothers who did

> not eat any animal products, including milk and

> eggs, developed brain

> abnormalities as a result of a vitamin-B12

> deficiency, the US Centers for

> Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported

> Thursday.

>

> The primary sources of vitamin B12, which is

> essential for brain

> development, are animal products like meat, dairy

> products and eggs. Since

> the mothers ate little or no animal products, too

> little vitamin B12 was

> transmitted to their children through breast milk,

> according to the CDC's

> Dr. Maria Elena Jefferds.

>

> Jefferds added that these cases serve as a reminder

> to parents and

> pediatricians to ensure that both pregnant women and

> mothers who breast-feed

> their infants consume enough B12, either through

> diet or B12-containing

> supplements.

>

> " You have to make sure you're getting it, " she said,

> in reference to vitamin

> B12.

>

> And don't abandon breast-feeding altogether,

> Jefferds cautioned.

> Breast-feeding has many advantages, and mothers who

> choose to not eat animal

> products should still continue to breast-feed their

> infants.

>

> " Vegetarians should absolutely breast-feed, there's

> no question about that, "

> she said.

>

> In the January 31st issue of the Morbidity and

> Mortality Weekly Report,

> Jefferds and her colleagues describe the cases of

> two babies who showed

> signs of brain abnormalities as a result of a

> deficiency in vitamin B12.

>

> In one case, doctors examined and diagnosed the

> deficiency in a 15-month-old

> child with slow growth and mental development. Her

> mother said she had

> avoided consuming all animal products for many

> years, and had breast-fed the

> baby for 8 months after birth.

>

> After receiving supplements of vitamin B12, the

> child began to improve, but

> was still below her age group in speech and language

> at 32 months of age.

>

> Jefferds explained in an interview that many

> children fully recover from

> vitamin-B12 deficiencies but that, in some cases, a

> prolonged period of low

> consumption of vitamin B12 can cause irreversible

> damage.

>

> " I think it really depends on how severe the

> deficiency was, and how long it

> was taking place for, " she said.

>

> She added that while both children described in the

> report showed lingering

> symptoms of low vitamin B12, over time, those

> impairments may disappear.

>

> The initial symptoms of low vitamin B12 in infants

> are often vague and not

> obvious, Jefferds noted. She recommended that

> doctors keep the possibility

> of a deficiency " on their radar screen, " and ask

> mothers if they eat animal

> products or take supplements that contain enough

> vitamin B12, also known as

> cobalamin.

>

> Vegans eat only plant-based foods, using grains,

> legumes, fruits and

> vegetables to fill all their dietary needs.

> Vegetarians, on the other hand,

> typically avoid meat, but may eat some animal

> products, such as milk, eggs

> and possibly fish.

>

> SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

> 2003;52:61-64.

>

>

 

 

 

 

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