When you have chosen a vegetarian diet for dietary or ethical reasons, you need to be very careful in choosing formulas and solid food for your child.
You may have to supplement breast milk with additional sources of nutrition according to your nutrition restrictions if you intend to breastfeed the child and you are a vegetarian. You should add B-12 vitamin sources into your children’s diet if you are a vegan or ovo-vegetarian.
Apart from B-12, even if you are on a strictly vegan diet, your baby should be able to receive all micro-and macronutrients via breastfeeding.
You should stick to commercial formulae that contain the adequate amount and nutrient ratios if you want to use formula rather than breastmilk. If you choose a homemade formula or soy milk for a commercial product, a lack of proper nutrition could cause your child developmental problems.
You can select a commodity soy formula to keep your infant on a vegan diet, provided that it is nutritionally sufficient.
After approximately one year, it is possible to add formula or breast milk to other nutritional sources such as homemade preparations, soy milk, juice, and cow’s milk (if you are not a vegan).
Nutritionists propose to keep your infant on a full-fat, high-protein diet of vegetarian-friendly foods like mashed, pureed avocados, soy milk, tofu-enriched with nutrients and yoghurts after your age.
You can introduce firm tofu, pieces of vegetarian burgers, eggs and cheese when you are ready to turn your child into solid vegetarian food.
Increasing your baby’s protein resources, maintaining a full-fat diet, and maintaining a healthy vegetarian diet during crucial developmental stages shouldn’t be a problem for you.
