I have a diabetic, over 40 friend who has decided to maintain a vegan diet while she is breastfeeding . Her baby was delivered by C-Section one month early due to the mother s condition and also because the baby appeared to have an enlarged heart. When she was born, she seemed fine and went home without any issues. The mother is eating, bananas, apples, mashed potatoes and drinking water. There are so many foods to avoid while lactating that it s confusing when the diet you normally eat is based on those same foods (soy, greens, beans, nuts , etc....) This baby is three weeks old and has only gained 1 oz since her birth, she appears to be lethargic and very, very skinny. I m trying to figure out what quality foods the mom can eat on her diet, given the fact that she is a juvenile diabetic and has a continuous pump to control her insulin . Her doctor, as many doctors are, is not skilled enough in diet and nutrition when it comes to actually helping a mother with these particular needs/choices and has left the vegan diet up to the mom. The only thing she has recommended was to avoid the foods that regular lactating moms need to avoid but in doing so, it has taken away the nutritional sources that she would normally consume for correct nutrition. She is now basically afraid to eat anything outside of the foods mentioned earlier in this communication and she eats those to maintain her blood sugar . NO protein at all is being consumed. Needless to say, we need to be able to find information about specific foods and a nutritional plan that the mom can / should eat in this particular situation. The main concern is the potential for the baby s failure to thrive