Raw and Pregnancy

[krysnted]

I am new to raw foods, and I was wondering if anyone has done this way of eating while pregnant? Or does anyone do this with their small children? I am curious about your experiences, since I have not found any info on raw foods and pregnancy. Thanks for your input! :)

[AJ Bodine]

You may want to visit this site and do some reading on Jingee and how she's been raw through her pregnancies.

http://www.thegardendiet.com/main.html

[twinyoga]

I was playing with raw before I became pregnant...but let me tell you, my body (and babies...twins) took over and told me what to eat. And that was not raw food.

I hope you are able to find some good information. But be careful! The health of your baby is very important. You can always go back to raw afterwards in case you stray.

[lvg4him]

Jenny S. stayed all raw during breastfeeding her child as well as keeping her little one (now 2yrs old) on all raw. I have kept my little one high raw (daddy really likes to give her "treats" which are cooked). She is doing exceptionally well.

TO read more about Jenny and her raw journey:
http://www.associate.com/groups/healthseeker

As far as pregnancy, I have heard of miscarriages on all raw, so I would be very careful to be monitored while all raw and pregnant. There is just not enough information out there. Jinjee's book is mostly about having a natural birth, rather than having an all raw pregnancy. Serene Alisson has had an all raw pregnancy, is currently doing her second all raw pregnancy and is working on a raw pregnancy book.

HTH!

[Rawkinlocs]

I have heard of miscarriages on all raw

Let's keep in mind that MANY miscarriages occur on all cooked as well! ;)

Jinjee's ebook goes into a little more detail than just natural birth...she also shares her experiences for each child (raw and vegan cooked pregnancies) and briefly talks about the raw diet during pregnancy, the root of morning sickness and some other things. It's not AS detailed as I would have hoped, but it's a start and hopefully more books and information of this nature will come about as we shed the fears of being raw while pregnant and shed the misconceptions that cooked foods somehow bring more/better health to an individual than raw foods.

I'd like to see more material on raw pregnancy/birthing and look forward to the book by Serene Alisson!

Heck, I've had two people tell me they had a dream that I had another girl baby But if that is meant to happen...to have another child, then I'll definitely be another one to report on a raw pregnancy/birth!

[lvg4him]

I have heard of miscarriages on all raw

Let's keep in mind that MANY miscarriages occur on all cooked as well! ;)

Very true. I just know that when I first started looking into raw, I got excited at the thought of non-complicated pregnancies. I just wanted to encourage her to not automatically asume that a raw pregnancy was without concerns. As I said, I just know MYSELF and started out automatically assuming that an all raw pregnancy was worry-free. Thankfully miscarriages are the only negative thing I have heard about all raw pregnancies. I have not heard about any birth defects or illness or diseases with an all raw pregnancy baby. (If anyone has, I would definately be interested in hearing about it.)

I do believe that a raw pregnancy would be better than a cooked food pregnancy. There is a book out which talks a little about the importance of raw foods during pregnancy. It is called A Guide to Motherhood. While it does not indorse an all raw food pregnancy, it does not NOT advocate one. (If that makes sense).

Anyways, I hope I didn't offend anyone. As I said, I know MYSELF and would want to know that miscarriages happen on all raw just like they do on cooked.

[Joopie]

There is a good book on this from Hallelujah Acres (a Christian raw food organization). It's called, "Pregnancy, Children, and the Hallelujah Diet".

Go to http://www.hacres.com , click on Online Ordering under the Catalog heading on the left side, click on Books, and scroll down and it's on the left side of the page. You can order from there.

I have the book, it's pretty complete with information.

Hope this helps!

Julie

I think I have a few more links on this, I'll look and repost if I find them.

[Allison]

I have not had a 100% raw pregnancy, but I have tried to raise a young child 100% raw. He was two at the time. I was very familiar with the raw diet, and we also kept in touch with the pediatrician and a naturopath during this time. He lost weight and would not grow. He got to the 5% and less on the weight charts. FYI, a lot of people have problems with that and will report you. That did not happen to me, but I have heard of it happening to others. Lack of food was not a problem, because he ate a lot, including avocadoes, nuts and other calorie-dense foods. Adults losing a lot of weight on a raw diet is one thing, but a small child losing a lot of weight is another. I try to eat 100% for me, but my children are high raw. The main advice I have for people is to not take advice about raising children raw from people who have not done it. I did it. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I am saying to be careful.

Also, before you take someone's advice, such as Serene Allison, or anyone else, ask very specific questions about their pregnancies to get the whole picture.

My 2 cents,
Allison

[krysnted]

Wow, thanks for all the information! We were planning on getting pregnant soon, and my husband said as long as there was no danger to the child, he was ok with raw pregnancy. This will be something great to look into, and I can't wait for the book to come out! It is really great that there are so many of you out there sharing and so friendly. It really helps being on this diet! Thanks everyone! Krystal