Pregnant person preparing smoothie with fresh fruits and spinach

Plant-Based Pregnancy: Tips for Meatless Moms-to-Be

Home
Live Well Blog
Plant-Based Pregnancy: Tips for Meatless Moms-to-Be

Group of women embracing in a supportive hug

September 10, 2025 Women

Healthy Pregnancy on a Plant-Based Diet

Eating well during pregnancy is important for you and your baby. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you can still have a healthy pregnancy – you may just need to take a little extra care to get the nutrients your body needs.

Plant-based foods are full of good things like fiber, but some nutrients can be harder to get without meat or dairy.

These include:

Protein
Iron
Vitamin B12
Vitamin D
Calcium
Folate (also called folic acid)
Zinc
Omega-3s

Three white capsules on a white background

A daily prenatal vitamin is important for all pregnant women.

If you eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, you may also need extra supplements. Always talk to your doctor or WIC nutritionist before taking any vitamins or supplements. Taking too much can be harmful.

Nutrients You Need During Pregnancy

Basket with various healthy foods including beans, eggs

Protein

Protein helps your baby grow and keeps your body strong.

Women typically need about 46 grams of protein each day, but pregnant women need more, especially in the second and third trimesters. During pregnancy, you need about 71 to 75 grams of protein each day.

Try these protein-rich foods:

Beans, lentils, and peas
Tofu, tempeh, and soy milk
Nuts and seeds (like almonds, chia, flax, or peanuts)
Nut butters
Eggs
Milk, cheese, and yogurt
Whole grains like oatmeal and brown rice

Basket with spinach, kale, beans, and cereal

Iron

Iron helps your body make blood and carry oxygen.

You need 27 mg of iron each day. Low iron can make you feel tired.

Your doctor may suggest an iron supplement if your levels are low.

Good plant sources of iron:

Beans and lentils
Dark leafy greens (like spinach and kale)
Dried fruit and nuts
Iron-fortified cereals

Soy milk, cereal, and nutritional yeast on a tray

Vitamin B12

B12 helps your baby’s brain grow and keeps your nerves and blood healthy.

You need about 2.6 micrograms each day.

Check the food label to make sure it’s fortified with B12.

B12 is only found in animal foods.

You can also get it from:

Fortified soy milk or other plant milks
Fortified cereal
Fortified nutritional yeast

Cows milk, soy milk, cereal, and eggs in basket

Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps your baby’s bones grow strong and helps your body use calcium.

You need 600 IU of vitamin D each day during pregnancy.

Your doctor may suggest a supplement if you aren’t able to get enough vitamin D from the sun or from food.

You can get vitamin D from:

Sunlight
Fortified cow’s milk or soy milk
Eggs (the yolk)
Fortified cereal

Assorted healthy foods in a wicker basket display

Calcium

Calcium builds strong bones and teeth. It also helps your heart and muscles.

You need 1,000 mg of calcium each day.

Try:

Milk, cheese, and yogurt
Calcium-fortified soy or rice milk
Tofu
Broccoli, kale, spinach
Almonds and sesame seeds
Fortified orange juice

Assorted healthy foods in a wicker basket arrangement

Folate (Folic Acid)

Folate helps prevent birth defects in your baby’s brain and spine.

You need 400 micrograms each day.

Eat foods with vitamin C (like oranges or strawberries) to help your body absorb folate better.

You can get folate from:

Beans and lentils
Dark leafy greens
Prunes
Tofu
Fortified bread, pasta, rice, and cereal

Assorted dairy and grain products in wicker basket

Zinc

Zinc helps your baby grow.

You need at least 11 mg each day.

It can be harder to absorb zinc from plants, so your prenatal vitamin should include it.

Foods with zinc:

Fortified cereals
Soy foods
Whole grains and oatmeal
Nuts and seeds
Milk, cheese, and yogurt

Salmon and seeds arranged in a woven basket

Omega-3s (Healthy Fats)

Omega-3s help your baby’s brain and eyes grow.

You need 200–300 mg of omega-3s each day.

Limit fried and processed foods – they make it harder for your body to use omega-3s.

Try:

Fish (limit white/albacore tuna to 6 oz per week; avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish)
Chia seeds
Flaxseeds

Pregnant woman holding bottle, pouring vitamins

Final Tip

You don’t have to eat meat to have a healthy pregnancy.

With good planning, a plant-based diet can give you and your baby everything you need.

Just be sure to:

Take a prenatal vitamin every day
Eat a mix of healthy foods
Talk to your doctor or WIC nutritionist about supplements you may need

And don’t forget to remind yourself that you’re doing a great job taking care of yourself and your baby!

REFERENCES:

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2023). Vegetarian diets in pregnancy.
https://www.va.gov/files/2023-09/Pregnancy%20and%20Vegetarian%20Diet.pdf

Sebastiani, G., Herranz Barbero, A., Borrás-Novell, C., Alsina Casanova, M., Aldecoa-Bilbao, V., Andreu-Fernández, V., Pascual Tutusaus, M., Ferrero Martínez, S., Gómez Roig, M. D., & García-Algar, O. (2019). The effects of vegetarian and vegan diet during pregnancy on the health of mothers and offspring. Nutrients, 11(3), 557.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11030557

Infant
Children
General /Family
Women
Recipes