Children with vegan mothers risk deficiency

Vegan foodVegan food.Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

Children can become seriously ill when the mother is vegan

Increasing Norwegian hospitals receive infants with a B12 deficiency because the child’s mother is vegan reported iTromsø news.

 

Claus Klingenberg, the sectional surgeon of newborn intensive care at UNN said that this is a known issue.

“There have been hospitalisations at several Norwegian hospitals.

This is a clinical issue that we see more and more of in the country” said Klingenberg to iTromsø.

He emphasised that mothers with vegan diets must receive supplementation of B12 during pregnancy.

“If not, infants do not get enough of the vitamin through their milk,” he said.

According to Klingenberg, the symptoms of B12 deficiency can be serious, with delayed development of both the body and the brain, poor movement, eating disorders, constipation and other diffuse symptoms.

“Most of the multivitamin supplements do not contain B12, so you have to make sure that your children later get a balanced diet that contains vitamin B12. You can find it in meat, eggs, fish and dairy products. However, I would advise anyone who has a vegan diet to discuss their diet thoroughly with a GP or nutritionist,” he said.

Vegans, as opposed to vegetarians, avoid all food of animal origin, including eggs and dairy products.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today