vegetarian and conception problems?

Question

hello- I am wondering how many women have problems conceiving and are vegetarians?? I have been a vegetarian for half my life (i am 30 now) and am starting to wonder if my diet is impacting our ability to get and/or maintain pregnancy. Over to past 19 months of TTC, i think 3 or 4 of those months i miscarried (very early). My BBT looks great; however my cycle is a bit long (35-38 days) which i have read can be a result of eating too much soy. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks so much!!

Answer 1

I'm a vegetarian and have done plenty of research on the subject of pregnancy without meat... in one study vegans from a commune in the southern US had safer pregnancy's across the grid... no preclamsia etc... but these were very healthy women... are you taking prenatal vitamins to make sure that you're getting your folic acid... do you combine things like beans and rice, and milk and peanut butter to ensure that you're getting complete amino acids??? do you eat lots of green and colorful veggies and fruit?? if you answered no to any of these questions then your diet could absolutely have something to do with the miscarriages... maybe cut back on the soy since it has so much estrogen in it ... but read up on what you need to be eating and spend the time and energy making it... it's well worth it...

if you already know all of this (which if you're a veggie you're probably quite smart and do) then disregard this

Answer 2

I'm going out on a limb to say that soy is likely not impacting your fertility. Japanese women eat a LOT of soy as well as small amounts of meat/fish/poultry and they don't appear to have generalized infertility. Have you had your iron levels checked? Low iron and anemia are known to cause miscarriage. Eggs could help though. Is your diet properly balanced? My Mom's Hindu co-worker says most American vegetarians don't properly balance their foods. Certainly that is the case with both my cousin and my sister who went prematurely gray by 21. If you are thin or unhealthy, you are more likely to miscarry.

Answer 3

I have a 38 day cycle, and I got pregnant twice. Cycle lenght means nothing.

If you're underweight, and unhealthy (I have YET to see a healthy vegitarian) you'll miscarry early on before your body invests much in the pregnancy.

Try including some safe fish once or twice a week, maybe even some chicken and see if it helps. You need a ton of protein in pregnancy, not to mention vitamins and minerals. You also need a small fat reserve.

If you're skinny gain 5 pounds, eat some sort of meat once in a while, and try again.