I became a vegetarian at 13, for the simple reason that I don't like the taste of meat. Then, in my early twenties, when I realised the impact that raising animals for human consumption has on the planet, I became vegan. I am now 34 and I would like to have a baby. My partner is a vegetarian, and I had assumed that it would be fine to be pregnant and to raise the baby on either of our diets. However, I recently heard about the case of a young girl who developed a severe form of rickets because of a strict meat and dairy-free diet. This has made me concerned - is it possible to raise a healthy baby on a vegan diet? Should I consider temporarily becoming a lacto-ovo vegetarian while pregnant?
Lorraine 34, Leeds

If you would prefer to continue to be vegan, you can do so in the knowledge that there are many examples of healthy “second generation” vegans in this country - in other words, people who are now adults whose mothers and fathers were vegan at their time of conception and who were subsequently raised as vegan infants and children.

However, be aware that, as with any diet, there are “good” and “bad” versions of veganism, and you have to be particularly careful about getting the balance right, for yourself and your offspring, when following this regimen. You need to be scrupulously careful to ensure, particularly, that you get enough vitamin D (needed for strong bones) and B12 (for a robust nervous system), as well as minerals such as selenium and iodine. This is a challenge to achieve when eschewing all animal products in your diet.

The Vegan Society has published a very good book entitled Feeding Your Vegan Child (£9.99), written by the dietitian Sandra Hood. In it, she reveals how parents, infants and children can thrive on a diet that avoids completely all animal products, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy foods, honey and by-products of animals such as gelatin. By using soya milk fortified with vitamin D, vitamin B12 and calcium, you can get enough of the bone-building nutrients you need to help your infant's skeleton to develop while you are pregnant and when breast-feeding.

One sound piece of advice is to invest in a specially formulated supplement for Vegans called Veg1 (90 tablets, £4.99), which contains the nutrients mentioned above, plus folic acid - women trying to conceive need to have 400 micrograms of this each day. Purists may resent the idea of taking a supplement, but in my view it is a sensible “insurance policy”.

It is worth remembering that there are plenty of unhealthy omnivorous diets, and that a lot of infants in this country are being raised on diets that are too high in salt, saturated fats and sugars, so if you take your responsibilities seriously to eat a well-balanced vegan diet, you need not feel that you are doing anything wrong.

Vegans appear to have lower rates of heart disease in later life, so de-stressing about the subject is important for improving your chances of conception and for having a happy, healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Diet advice

1. Make wholegrain cereals and potatoes the basis of every meal. Fortified breakfast cereals are useful for boosting nutrients. Wholegrain cereals provide iron for energy and zinc for strong immunity.

2. Have a “meat alternative” at every meal. Tofu, beans, lentils, chickpeas, nuts, seeds and peanut butter all give you protein instead of meat, fish, poultry and eggs.

3. Eat dairy alternatives at least twice a day. These include fortified soya milk, soya yoghurts and soya cheese, plus calcium-rich foods such as dried apricots, green leafy vegetables (except spinach), nuts and sesame seeds.

4. Fruit and vegetables. Have at least five a day, with lots of variety. Eat those rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits and peppers, at main meals to help the absorption of iron. Have vitamin D-fortified spreads, soya milk and cereals daily, and try to get into the sunlight, especially between March and September.

5. Have iodised salt or small amounts of seaweed each day.

6. Eat three or four brazil nuts a day for selenium, or make sure that your vegan supplement supplies it.

For more information and to buy Sandra Hood's book or the Veg1 supplement, contact www.vegansociety.com or call 0845 4588244.

If you have nutrition questions for Amanda, e-mail her at amandaursell@thetimes.co.uk

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