Vegan Parents Lose Custody of 14-month-old Malnourished Son

The parents of a 14-month-old malnourished boy have lost custody of him after they reportedly fed him with a strict vegan diet despite his congenital heart condition.

A court has ordered to remove the young boy, from Italy, whose name wasn’t disclosed, from his parents’ care after he was given a strict vegan diet, resulting to a body weight only a little bit higher than that of a newborn.

The boy was taken to a hospital in Milan by his grandmother, who reported that his parents had been feeding him a vegan diet. Blood tests revealed the boy’s seriously malnourished condition and a congenital heart condition which requires immediate surgery – his calcium and levels were so low that it was surprising he was still alive.

Police were immediately told of the boy’s condition, and prosecutors suggested to have the baby removed from his parents’ care.

Thankfully, the boy is now recovering in hospital, and the courts will now decide whether his grandparents should be given custody of the young boy, or if he shall return to his parents.

Luca Bernardo, the head of paediatrics at the hospital, clarified that he wasn’t judging the parents’ vegan lifestyle in this case, but pointed out that any parent imposing an “abnormal” diet on their child should consider supplements their kid will need.

“It is not a problem to choose different or unusual kinds of nutrition and we certainly do not want to enter into a discussion of the merits of the decision. But since birth, the baby should have had support in this case with calcium and iron. This (particular case) forces us to reflect on uncommon feeding regimes, even if in this case it was complicated by a cardiac malformation,” he said.

The Telegraph reported that an estimated 2.8 percent of citizens are now boycotting all animal products. While this figure is not alarming, what is concerning is that there have been four similar cases of malnourished children being hospitalised in Italy in the last 18 months alone. All of these cases have been linked to vegan diets.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics advise parents to also feed their children with foods well supplemented with vitamins B12, vitamin D, calcium and iron. However, the group recommends that parents interested in vegan diet should consult a dietitian.

Source: Kidspot.com.au