Final answer:
Pregnant women who are vegans can get complete protein from a variety of plant-based sources, mainly legumes, seeds, and nuts. They must consume a diverse range of these foods to ensure intake of all essential amino acids, using protein complementation to create balanced meals during pregnancy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Pregnant women who are vegans should get their protein from plant-based sources. Vegan sources of protein include legumes such as soybeans, lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, and various types of seeds and nuts like almonds, walnuts, and hemp seeds. As individual plant foods may not contain all essential amino acids, it is important for vegans to eat a variety of these foods to ensure they are getting a complete protein intake.
It's especially important during pregnancy to be mindful of complete protein intake because plant proteins often lack one or more essential amino acids. In contrast, animal sources typically provide a complete protein. Therefore, the correct answer to why vegans need to pay special attention to the protein they eat is that it is more difficult to obtain all essential amino acids from single plant sources (option b).
Vegetarians and vegans often combine different plant foods, such as grains and legumes, to create meals that provide all the essential amino acids their bodies need. This technique is known as protein complementation. Examples include rice and beans, or peanut butter on whole wheat bread. These combinations are particularly important for pregnant women to ensure proper fetal development and maternal health.