A 14-month-old was rushed to a Milan hospital this month by his grandparents and found to be so severely malnourished that he weighed what most babies weigh at 3 months, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
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An Italian baby was removed from his parents after doctors were shocked at his poor state of health and a body weight only just slightly higher than a newborn.
Doctors at a Milan, Italy hospital couldn’t allow selfish parents to malnourish their son through a vegan diet, so they had the baby removed from their custody, according to The Telegraph.
Luca Bernardo, who is the director of pediatrics at the hospital the boy was admitted to, told The Telegraph that the baby should have been given calcium and iron supplements to keep him healthy. Tests revealed that the baby was extremely underweight and had critically low calcium levels. “Every year or so, an article enters the world with inflammatory headlines and content about how unsafe a vegan diet can be for infants and children”.
Although his heart problems weren’t caused by his diet, they are thought to have been exacerbated by it, since low calcium levels can cause the heart to beat irregularly.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics doesn’t advise parents against feeding their children a vegetarian diet as long as it’s well supplemented with vitamins B12, vitamin D, calcium and iron. However, the group recommends parents interested in this route consult a dietitian.
“But since birth, the baby should have had support in this case with calcium and iron”, he added.
In Italy, nearly three percent of the population is reportedly vegan.
The baby, who is now recovering in the hospital, was taken away from the parents after the hospital called social services to report the case.
The decision as to whether his grandparents should have custody will lie with Italian family courts.
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Plenty of children do get raised on vegan or vegetarian diets with little health issues, though doctors are more supportive of some diets over others.
