By Samantha Morton
An interview with two women who opted for different lifestyles when deciding to eat meat or not during their pregnancies.
An interview with two women who opted for different lifestyles when deciding to eat meat or not during their pregnancies.
Pregnancy is one of the biggest changes a woman can go through in their lives, but how would you cope being a vegetarian and pregnant? Eat meat to benefit your unborn child or stick by your views? I'm going to take a look at two women both pregnant and vegetarian and see how they coped with the ups and downs of pregnancy life.
'she can eat meat, I'll cook it for her and then when she's old enough she can make her own choice'
Charlotte Scales, 21, mum of one, from Rotherham, has been a vegetarian for over 11 years by choice 'I don't like the taste of meat or the fact it's the killing of innocent animals'. She grew up in a household with opposite parents, her mum was a vegetarian but her dad wasn't.
She explained how her family never tried to force their habits on to her and this is an idea she will be carrying on with her beautiful daughter Lily as she grows older 'I believe it's important to give my daughter the same options I had growing up, so she can eat meat, I'll cook it for her and then when she's old enough she can make her own choice'.
Charlotte was advised by doctors during her pregnancy to eat certain foods, many of these food were high in protein and iron which is commonly found in certain meats, but instead of opting to eat meat as "I didn't start eating meat during my pregnancy as I feel strongly about being a vegetarian" she decided to just substitute some things in her diet with meat free alternatives and lots of vegetables to make sure her and her baby we're getting the right level of nutrients that they both needed. As a result a happy and healthy baby Lily was born on February 10th 2015 weighing 7lb 5oz.
'I began eating meat again during my pregnancy as I felt it was my responsibility to my child'.
On the other hand, Jenni Smedley, 23, mum of one, from Rotherham, has been a vegetarian for roughly four years.
Jenni decided to become vegetarian as she 'didn't like the taste of meat, and would only eat processed meats, so opted for vegetarian equivalents as a healthier option'.
However, when she became pregnant with her first child, she decided to begin eating meat so that she could be healthier during her pregnancy 'I began eating meat again during my pregnancy as I felt it was my responsibility to my child'.
Baby Sean was born weighing 7lb on October 6th 2014, but even though she'd had her son, Jenni decided not to stop eating meat 'even though Sean is here there's no stopping me, I'll eat any meat that's put in front of me'. Similarly to Charlotte, Jenni has decided to leave the choice of whether or not to be a vegetarian in the hands of her son once he's at an age where he can make his own choices 'it's completely his choice, I would never force him to be or do anything he wasn't happy with'.
Two women, two stories and two gorgeous babies! It's wonderful to see that even before these children were brought into this world they were still a priority to their parents. It's a tough decision to make on what to do when a lifestyle you've known for many years gets turned upside down, but it's fair to say both ladies overcame the obstacle and are now happier than ever.