h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

i have been vegetarian for five years, and I'm 25, my wife is 42 and we are trying for a baby. Now, a man at work said about his neighbours who were both vegetarian and who were trying for a baby but couldn't concieve, their doctor told them to eat meat and they got pregnant soon after.

I don't believe that I need to eat meat for my wife to become pregnant, but given my wifes age, we haven't got long to be trying for, so if there's anything to do with my vegetarianism that's maybe preventing her becomming pregnant I'd like to know. I mean if there's something I could or should be doing.

any advice or sugestions would be great.

I don't think the fact that you're a vegetarian has any real relevance to your fertility. There's no proof that being a vegetarian makes you less fertile, and I really wouldn't worry about it.

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is much more important than whether you eat meat or not.

http://vegetarian.about.com/library/weekly/aa011700a.htm?once=true&

Hi

The last thing I want to do is try and persuade you or your wife to do anything you don't want to, but......

In Chinese medicine, an important Kidney tonic is fish. Weak Kidney energy = low fertility/longevity. (Traditional Chinese medicine has different parameters than Western medicine regarding organs and their sphere of influence.)

There are other Kidney tonics of course, kidney beans and seaweed for example, so there is more than just 'one' way to help tonify someone's Kidney energy, if that really is the problem.

I'm a vegetarian (99.9% of the time), and I sometimes find it very hard to treat/improve my health through diet alone when the medical model I follow is the traditional Chinese one - there everything is food and medicine, and there is little moral complication to it


Maybe you and your wife could go to an acupuncturist/chinese herbalist to ensure that you are doing everything you can to improve your fertility? There are some herbs that you could both take, but it's impossible to prescribe them without seeing you/r wife and taking a full case history and symptoms.

Is your wife vegetarian? If she is, then obviously it is very important that she has a well balanced and nutritious diet, making sure that she gets enough vitamins and minerals.

Hope this helps
LSF

Firstly, the information you got from 'a man at work' was secondhand, and not direct from the source. If his neighbours did start eating meat, it does not follow that conception 'soon after' was in any way connected, or anything more than a coincidence. In fact, I would postulate that such a drastic change in diet would be unlikely to make an instant difference, and that it could actually be detrimental. Secondly, both this man and the doctor are presumably not vegetarian, and it is common practice, in my experience, for carnivores to jump to the conclusion that a medical problem must equal a deficiency in your diet. So please don't let their negative attitudes put you off.

Presumably you are committed to being vegetarian (perhaps your wife also?), so if you give that up and are still unable to conceive, it would be wise to consider how that would make you feel. As someone has already said, there is no medical evidence to suggest that vegetarianism interferes with fertility, and I have met many vegetarian parents (myself included), so I see no basis for that attitude.

How long have you been trying to conceive for? Couples vary, and for some it seems to happen almost instantly, whereas others find it takes six months, a year, or longer. Also, if your wife has come off of hormonal contraception, such as the pill, injections or hormone-releasing IUD, then it will take a while for her fertility to return to normal, possibly six months plus. You no doubt appreciate that age is also a factor, and a woman's ability to conceive will decrease as she gets older.

Have you discussed this with your own doctor yet? It is wise to get yourself and your wife checked out if you are concerned, to ensure there are no other problems affecting fertility for either of you. If you find yourself with an 'anti-vegetarian' doctor, then seek a second opinion. I have experienced this attitude myself.

Finally, HVS and its members are sure to offer you their support and encouragement where they can. You might also like to contact the Vegetarian Society and see if they can offer any advice. The link is on the main HVS page.

Hope this has been of some help or encouragemnet to you, and best wishes for your future baby.

well thanks for the replies, they've been most helpfull.

The man at work has said this a number of times, but its been one of those things that I've never had a good answer for. And like you say he does tent to blame things on being vegetarian, I fainted at work last year and he blamed it on that. But the fact that he said it I just wanted to be sure.

i've not mentioned to our doctor that i'm vegetarian, because i don't see it makes much difference, and i'm much healthier now than when i ate meat.

My wife isn't vegetarian, I just wanted to be sure that's all.

thanks very much.

Some of the most fertile people I know (in terms of numbers of children and ease of conception) are vegetarian - or even vegan. So don't worry about it. A vegetarian diet is one of the healthiest there is so you are doing the best you can. It seems to me that one of the biggest blocks to conceiving is the pressure of having to conceive - once you chill out and give yourself a break from the stress of it all you'll probably find it'll happen. So get some (vegetarian) wine in, put the music on, turn down the lights and turn off the pressure.
Love Vegantoo