This week’s question was from the Council, to the Council:

“One of our Council members was wondering about baby formula: it appears that there aren’t any vegan versions out there, at least where she lives, since the vitamin D is derived from lanolin (wool) in all of the otherwise vegan varieties. Is anyone aware of a vegan brand that might have been missed, and if not, or in addition to it, what are some alternatives you’ve used or considered?”

OK, before we get to the Council’s advice, here’s the basics from our research on the internet: as of the time of this writing (March 2010,) there are no fully vegan infant formulas.

The only ones that comes up online at all are a brand called Farley’s and Heinz’s Nurture line’s Soya product, both of which were offered in the UK. Both appear to have been Vegan Society approved, but that’s because they’re the same product: Heinz bought Farley’s.

Before those of you outside the UK start calculating what are sure to be insane shipping fees, we’ve got some more bad news: unfortunately, it appears that as of February 2010, the line has been discontinued.

So what’s a vegan parent to do if breastfeeding isn’t an option?

Do your best

Julie had this to say on the matter: “I’m not aware of any vegan formulas, and I’m pretty sure the conclusion in Raising Vegetarian Children is that there aren’t any (or at least there weren’t at the time that the book was published.)

“We’ve been fortunate to never need formula, since both of our kids seem to be champion nursers, but if we found ourselves in a situation where we needed it, I think this would fall pretty easily in the ‘do the best we can’ category, meaning I’d be more than willing to overlook the non-vegan vitamin D if that’s what it took to be able to feed my kid. They can’t grow up to be world-influencingly awesome vegans themselves if they don’t get the nutrition they need as babies, so one way or another their survival and thriving is my top priority.”

Examine other breastfeeding options

I’m no expert on the subject, but as Linda writes, there are people who are. Consult with a local La Leche League group or the IBCLC to see if there are ways to overcome whatever’s preventing you from breastfeeding.

I’m already well outside my areas of knowledge (thank you Council!) and this takes things even further, but Linda also mentioned the possibility of human milk banks, which wouldn’t necessarily be from a vegan woman, but may be worth considering.

Plan for the future generations

As Elaine put it, “we should probably all be contacting baby formula makers and asking for a vegan version. If we do, it won’t be long before a truly vegan baby formula will be readily available in mainstream US stores. Sometimes, I think, being a good vegan parent isn’t just about what we do for and with our children, it’s about acting like a parent for future generations of children so that other parents won’t have to make the kinds of compromises we have to make now.”

With that in mind, here are the contact addresses for some of the major formula makers. If I missed any (and that’s very likely,) please contact us and I’ll update the post.

If you’re looking for your activism action of the week, getting in touch with these companies and politely asking them to market a vegan-friendly formula (INCLUDING vitamin D2 instead of D3) wouldn’t be a bad way to spend your time. Here are links to the various contact forms:

• Mead Johnson (makers of Enfamil, Pregestimil, Nutramigen)
• Abbott Laboratories (Similac, Isomil, Alimentum, EleCare) (click the email link to get the form)
• Nestlé (Good Start)
• Hain Celestial (Earth’s Best)
• Nature’s One
• Wyeth nutrition

Thanks to Elaine, Steph, Julie, Pippi, and Linda for their help on this one!

Related stories:

• Weaning from breastfeeding – when and how?
• Breastfeeding: is your child what YOU eat?
• Vitamin D for Vegan Raised Infants

When does broccoli win over breast? Photo by Fimb

In part two on this week’s series on breastfeeding (see part one here,) we asked our Council of Vegan Parents a simple question: for how long did you nurse your children?

The answers were pretty evenly split – and surprising.

About half of our respondents were in the six months to a year phase. The other half? Three to three and a half years.

I’ll admit it, I hadn’t done any real research before asking the question, and I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but wow! And I wasn’t the only one: as Dalyn says, “When the nurse came to the house for a visit the week after he was born… she told me that they recommend breastfeeding for a year. I nearly fell out of my seat – it seemed like a very long time to have a little body attached to my breast.” It looks like she got over the initial shock though: “in some ways, it is a long time, but the convenience and the health factors do, of course, make it worth every moment.”

One thing I’m learning from compiling these surveys is that every case is different, and sure enough, there seem to be a lot of different reasons to wean at various points.

In some cases, another baby was on the way, and in others, the child decided on his or her own. Some women weaned out of concern for their own health (typically other factors were involved) and others out of discomfort, decreasing milk supply or simply the inability to “keep up with demand.”

As for the transition, a few Council members shared their stories as well.

Most of the 3+ year group night weaned at around the two and a half year range. As Doh pointed out, later-stage nursing seemed to be more about the emotional connection and comfort than the need for sustenance, so preparing for the change was more mental than physical.

For Julie, by the end of the cycle, she had to work on teaching her son to soothe in different ways. “He was big enough at nearly 3 that we could spend the couple of months leading up to it talking about how things would change when he was 3 and a ‘big kid,’ and he was excited enough about his birthday that it was a date he remembered and looked forward to, so it was an easy event to attach the change to.”

Their transition went relatively smoothly: “He was noticeably needier/clingier for a while, but he had a lot of changes going on in his life (weaning, me traveling abroad, moving to a new class with new teachers and new kids at school), so it’s hard to say how much of it was directly related to the breastfeeding. For a couple of weeks, he would ask to nurse, but I just had to ask him to stand up and show me how ‘big’ he was now that he was 3 for him to accept no as an answer. For a while, he asked about getting to nurse again after the [second] baby comes, but now (almost 5 months after weaning) those questions seem to have gone away as well.”

As for solid foods, in most cases these were introduced between the fifth and twelfth month. Steph started out with rice cereal and introduced things gradually from there, keeping an eye out for problems (oats caused some issues, for instance.) She recommends avoiding gluten grains in the first year. Meredith supplemented nursing with soy formula, and at about the one year mark her son started consuming regular soy milk – a habit he continues two years later at the rate of several cartons a week!

If you’re looking for more information, Steph pointed out a few resources that helped her with nursing and nutrition, including Healthy Eating for Life for Children and Dreena Burton’s Vive le Vegan!: Simple, Delectable Recipes for the Everyday Vegan Family.

A huge thanks to Julie, Meredith, Kari, Doh, Steph, Trin, and Dalyn for contributing on this one. What about you – how were your nursing experiences? Let us know in the comments, or if you’d like to contribute to a followup article, consider joining the Council of Vegan Parents!

(Photo by Fimb)

Photo by sdminor81

This week we’re taking a look at breastfeeding – if you are what you eat, is it the same for your child?

Part one of our series was inspired by our friend Laura, whose baby seems to have developed some kind of soy sensitivity, and it seems to be coming from breast milk after Laura eats soy-based foods. Laura isn’t vegan herself, but she’s trying to incorporate non-meat protein into her diet, which is something we want to promote.

Does breast milk contain elements of the mother’s diet? Is there anything Laura can do to mitigate this? What other weird and wonderful side effects can happen? We put the question to our Council of Vegan Parents.

As it happens, the Council didn’t have many problems with this area, but they’ve heard from others who weren’t so lucky.

While Julie didn’t have any issues with food sensitivities herself, she’s been involved with various mentoring groups over the years. From what she’s learned, soy allergies and sensitivities are very likely to co-occur with dairy allergies and sensitivities, so this could equally happen to vegans and non-vegans alike. It still sucks though, so to work around the issue Julie recommends replacing soy milk with almond, hazelnut, or hemp milk.

Elaine is our resident foster parenting expert, so she hasn’t breastfed herself, but from her research she believes that very few people are truly allergic to soy, and she recommends further testing. As she points out, many baby formulas contain soy (even milk-based ones,) and soy-based formulas are marketed for “sensitive babies.” Of course, something’s clearly going on from the reactions Laura’s seeing, so Elaine recommends soy-free vegan protein shakes such as Vega, which was designed to avoid many common allergens.

Meredith didn’t have any issues with sensitivities either but she’s got an interesting theory: “the food I ate while breastfeeding does seem to have had an impact on his eating habits; I don’t know any other 3 year olds with such an affinity for salad, garlic, eggplant, hummus, and all types of fresh fruit (most veggies too).”

On a similar note, Steph found that periods of avoiding caffeine seemed to make her son sleep better. She suggests avoiding processed foods, which she knows isn’t easy during the first few months, and for convenience, she recommends granola bars as a quick way to keep energy high and hunger low when time and sleep are at a premium. The “Enjoy Life” Cocoa Loca snacks are one of several that avoid common allergens, and Steph sent a link to a list of allergy free snacks that might help:

Lastly, some words of praise and encouragement from Doh: “Breastfeeding is challenging at times, and having a little one to care for is challenging at times, so throwing a food sensitivity into the mix has got to be rough. She’s lucky that so many soy-free options are coming onto the store shelves, but I’d encourage her to look to “whole foods” such as grains and legumes and veggies. I commend her for dropping the allergen from her diet – many people don’t realize how important that is. She has the power to either prevent or establish a life-long allergy for her child, and a lot of moms don’t realize how much damage they can do by continuing to expose their baby to the suspected allergen. Others just stop breastfeeding so they can continue to eat the foods they’re accustomed to. So, kudos to her.”

From the feedback we’ve received so far, the food chain definitely adds a few links when it comes to breastfeeding, so care should be taken to maintain a balance between your favourite foods and what works best for your child.

In Laura’s particular case, how can she get enough protein in her diet without using soy products? While protein is abundant in many plant-based foods, dropping soy’s a tough one, since it’s the basis of a lot of vegan meals. As mentioned above, Vega is a great source of protein that doesn’t contain a lot of common allergens like soy, but it can be a it hard to get down if you’re not into the taste (between the hemp and the stevia, it can take some getting used to.) There are other protein powders out there that are pea, hemp, or rice based; check your local health or nutrition supplement store for details.

Powders aren’t very exciting, so for some actual meals there are two books I’d recommend, both by Vega creator Brendan Brazier: Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life and Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness both contain a number of recipes used by high-performance atheletes that are free of many common allergens.

If you want to go your own way, and can handle wheat, vital wheat gluten is a great source. It’s available in many health, bulk, and even grocery stores, and is pretty easy to work with – a favourite around here is the chickpea cutlet recipe in Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook.

Other sources are quinoa, amaranth (we cook both like rice) or even simple greens, just like elephants and gorillas eat! With greens you will need to up your quantities, so in addition to big salads consider putting a few handfuls in your smoothies. I know, it sounds weird (and looks weirder!) but the taste is pretty surprising.

On Thursday, we’ll be revealing the results of our survey: how long did you breastfeed for? The answers might surprise you!

(As always, the ideas and opinions expressed here are those of the contributors and should not be construed as official medical advice. Please consult your physician for health matters, but say hi for us.)

(Photo by sdminor81)