Can't drink any kind of tea during pregnancy?

calebellamom23 · August 2014

So ive encontered many ladies that tell me tea is bad for pregnant woman.. is this true anyone know about this? :-S

meepette · August 2014

Some tea contains caffeine. Just be careful of how much you drink. But I drink tea a lot and my OBGYN is fine with it.

Koukonei · August 2014

There are certain types that can be harmful, a quick google search will tell you what to avoid. I'm a green tea drinker and haven't given it up.

jennjilljo · August 2014

Some teas are bad. I've read that we're supposed to avoid chamomile and passion fruit teas but other than those I'm not sure. Here's a great article about it from americanpregnancy.org that may be helpful. I would also check the teas you drink for a warning because I have found warnings on my teas before.

https://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/herbaltea.html

elephantsonpatrol · August 2014

Some kinds of tea (herbal teas) can have unknown/untested ingredients in them. Regular teas are fine - just watch the caffeine. I have a chai daily

calebellamom23 · August 2014

I stopped drinking green tea because.many woman said its bad . And its only good to drink tea up to when youre about to be in labor. I googled everyone has an opinion. So i just stopped !

calebellamom23 · August 2014

I will ask my doctor i just stopped to be on the safe side im bummed but if it will keep my baby out of harm i will sacrifice i suppose i willlet you all know i willaskmy doctor onmy appoinment in a week

foxslaw · August 2014

My obgyn said black & green tea are fine in small amounts, but avoid herbal teas until you talk to your OBGYN! Some cause contractions that could cause you to miscarry

mom2xover2002 · August 2014

I don't know what I'd do if I had to give up my daily English breakfast tea. I drink iced tea when we go out and water all the other times. Baby 3 pretty much helped my give up dr pepper cold turkey. Just tasted gross after I got pregnant.

tee18 · August 2014

My doc, who tends to be more easy going, has not restricted me for tea. I tend to drink mostly decaf black tea (lipton) and some herbal. I also like the earth mama angel baby brand pregnancy teas. Double check with your doc, but a lot of tea is fine in moderation.

mamabumkin · August 2014

I tend to be a person who prefers to find research or lack there of to determine if something is okay for me or not or how it should be used.

Overall I limit my intake of chamomile tea during the first trimester (this pregnancy didn't have any) but once I'm past the risk of miscarriage (week 12 is when it drops to 0.5% where it stays for the rest of the pregnancy until it turns into preterm labor) I will drink chamomile tea every now and then, and especially a couple times a week during cold and flu season with echinacea, nettles, and red raspberry leaves.

The herb pennyroyal and goldenseal were often used in herbal concoctions for spontaneous abortions in pre-medical times. I've always avoided them knowing this. I also avoid kava kava, valerian root, st.johns wort, and yohimbe. Mostly because of the possible hallucinogenic or other psychoactive properties of those herbs.

When it comes to black, orange, green, oolong, or white tea the only thing with those are caffeine. The amount of caffeine per cup will depend on the type as well as how strong (or long) you steep it. The strengths will range from about 25mg up to around 95mg. Is it concerning? There actually aren't any conclusive studies stating that caffeine is actually bad during pregnancy or that it causes any issues. But since it does cause blood vessel constriction, raises heart rate, and can cross the placenta barrier, there is an assumption it is best to moderate caffeine. The general recommendation is no more than 200 mg of caffeine a day. I still enjoy coffee and my black tea and I know nothing is actually going to go wrong using it. I drank coffee and tea with both of my previous pregnancies and no adverse side effects came of it. I generally don't drink more than 200mg on any given day, some days less, some days none, and some days 250mg, but that is rather rare.

Now I will say that caffeine at night in the third trimester did cause baby to be up and bouncing around. This also was caused by spicy food for supper too. So if I am going to have caffeine when I am in the later second trimester or third trimester I try to have it before noon.

But every woman should do what she feels is right for her and decide for herself what she feels is safe. You can look here, here, and here for more information and contradictory information.

foxslaw · August 2014

Just please avoid hibiscus teas because those are really not great for pregnancy, but @mamabumkin‌ echoing my thoughts.

kerrigrooves · August 2014

yikes, didnt even think about chamolie being unsafe. I had some last night with honey bc I have a sore throat! thanks for the info.

jennypolkadots · August 2014

Everything in moderation

I am so sick of some of these stupid rules. Soft cheeses, sushi, etc. The truth is the risk is abyssal. With cheeses, you will be hard pressed to find unpasteurized cheese in the US unless you know a dairy farmer. If you are getting fresh sushi at a high end Japanese restaurant, yeah it is fine. Don't eat off taco trucks, or uncooked meat, etc. Caffeine is fine, but I wouldn't have coffee every day. There are certain herbs that may tone the uterus - do not take motherwort. Anything that is made with real tea leaves (black, white, green, etc.) will have some caffeine in it but it is very low in comparison to coffee. Chamomile can tone the uterus but you would need to drink a ton of it from a commercially prepared product. Pretty much anything you can get at the grocery store is a-okay in moderation, just keep an eye on the caffeine. One cup is fine!

If you are concerned, drink what I drink. I drink loose leaf green rooibos tea with a splash of almond milk and a bit of honey. I have a little unfuser spoon and electric tea kettle. It's so easy to make. Rooibos is very high in antioxidants but has no caffeine. It is not actually a tea at all, it is from a bush that grows in Africa. 100% safe and has a rich flavor like a watered down coffee sort of. You can also get packets of red rooibos tea at the grocery store but it is no where near as good or good for you as the loose leaf green. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SATIE6/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1/184-5949149-3549059?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=0CKVQSF18D9NSCKX3YDT&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_i=B00080MJD8

Funny all of this stuff is a no no but it is totally fine to eat at McDonalds where 16 year olds might not wash their hands before slapping together your sub par burger with ingredients that haven't been properly refrigerated. And no one talks about the fact you are far more likely to get toxoplasmosis from under washed veggies than from a cat litter box. Oh yeah, and cat litter can not possibly have toxoplasmosis if your cat is indoors only and you don't have mice, or if it is scooped daily. Just sharing because I get so tired of these blanket "rules" that are really not true in most cases.

Irishcurls · August 2014

Yeah great response @mamabumkin! I just want to highlight that there is no medical basis that Red Raspberry Leaf tea sends you into labor; it may cause muscles to relax or contract based on dosage and some believe it aids in labor. You need to drink it in medical quantities (a lot) and under the care of a midwife if you plan to do that, but drinking a mug of tea occasionally is most likely completely safe--just like black or green tea. It's controversial and I don't drink it personally but there is a lot of information out there about it, and it's best to do your research, ask your provider and make your own decisions. I plan to drink all my teas in moderation.

tee18 · August 2014

jennypolkadots said:

Everything in moderation

I am so sick of some of these stupid rules. Soft cheeses, sushi, etc. The truth is the risk is abyssal. With cheeses, you will be hard pressed to find unpasteurized cheese in the US unless you know a dairy farmer. If you are getting fresh sushi at a high end Japanese restaurant, yeah it is fine. Don't eat off taco trucks, or uncooked meat, etc. Caffeine is fine, but I wouldn't have coffee every day. There are certain herbs that may tone the uterus - do not take motherwort. Anything that is made with real tea leaves (black, white, green, etc.) will have some caffeine in it but it is very low in comparison to coffee. Chamomile can tone the uterus but you would need to drink a ton of it from a commercially prepared product. Pretty much anything you can get at the grocery store is a-okay in moderation, just keep an eye on the caffeine. One cup is fine!

If you are concerned, drink what I drink. I drink loose leaf green rooibos tea with a splash of almond milk and a bit of honey. I have a little unfuser spoon and electric tea kettle. It's so easy to make. Rooibos is very high in antioxidants but has no caffeine. It is not actually a tea at all, it is from a bush that grows in Africa. 100% safe and has a rich flavor like a watered down coffee sort of. You can also get packets of red rooibos tea at the grocery store but it is no where near as good or good for you as the loose leaf green. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SATIE6/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1/184-5949149-3549059?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=0CKVQSF18D9NSCKX3YDT&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_i=B00080MJD8

Funny all of this stuff is a no no but it is totally fine to eat at McDonalds where 16 year olds might not wash their hands before slapping together your sub par burger with ingredients that haven't been properly refrigerated. And no one talks about the fact you are far more likely to get toxoplasmosis from under washed veggies than from a cat litter box. Oh yeah, and cat litter can not possibly have toxoplasmosis if your cat is indoors only and you don't have mice, or if it is scooped daily. Just sharing because I get so tired of these blanket "rules" that are really not true in most cases.

I agree that moderation is key to it all. Except the cat box - I'm not going to tell my husband that - I definitely don't want to clean it for 9 months!

crabigator · August 2014

@jennypolkadots‌ I absolutely agree with your philosophy and almost your whole post! Just wanted to add that, *if* you tend towards the side of doing everything in reasonable moderation (which is a personal choice!), then it's generally believed to be fine to have coffee every day. You note later "just one cup," which I think is totally in keeping with recommendations, depending on how big the cup is, of course, but I just wanted to add that there's no medically-proven downside to having that cup of coffee (of full caf!) every single day you're pregnant.

wame0202 · August 2014

It is recommended to avoid green tea, even a few months prior to conception, because studies have shown that the antioxidants in it inhibit folic acid absorption, leading to an increased chance of neural-tube defects. I'm no expert, but I just came across this in a book I'm reading. I drank green tea for the first couple months of my first pregnancy and had no issues.

mamabumkin · August 2014

@Irishcurls, I love raspberry leaves in my tea when I am doing herbals. I agree that overall there is little to no medical advice on herbs because it hasn't really been studied by the "science" community, even though there is plenty of anecdotal evidence from many older cultures around the world where these herbs were used for various healing or health benefits.

I did avoid the chamomile tea with this pregnancy during the first trimester, even though the risks of any side effects are low, just in case. I actually was extremely cautious these first three months, simply because I was a little more worried about miscarriage at my age (34)...compared to when I was 19 and 21 with my first two. Miscarriages didn't really cross my mind all that much with either of them.

I do agree with @jennypolkadots about all the fuss over so many things, like listeria, a bacteria that is very rare now and when we have outbreaks of it we know about it cause it makes national news. We restrict ourselves so intensely during our 9 months of pregnancy rationalizing the nearly hysterical assumptions that go into those limitations by the fact that it's only 9 months out of our lives in order to ensure the absolute best results for baby...that we often end up kind of miserable for such a low risk. But then you get the shaming and guilt of -- You're so selfish for even putting your unborn baby at any risk at all just so you can enjoy this or that -- from other mothers who are enduring the denial, or just other people who have an opinion.

I gave up worrying what others think of my choices. The only person's opinion to me that matters is my husband's and that is just how it is for me.

A side note, I don't eat fast food at all. I did have some french fries at McDonald's last year and they just tasted like deep fried cardboard. And the cat litter....well I've tried to explain it to my husband that there really is no risk with our cats, but he won't have any of it. He said he can clean the litter box out since I'm carrying the baby. He's just sweet like that.

jennypolkadots · August 2014

@crabigator - I totally agree that a cup of coffee every day is totally okay. It is all about reading and deciding what risks you are okay with. I am not comfortable with much caffeine but have never been a big coffee drinker. I can't go without tea though!

Mostly I just mean to say that the scare tactics are not based in reality. We are told some things to avoid that have very minimal risks but you don't see public service announcements about how important food preparation is. That is really the risk in all of these different things (other than the tea). Like I said, it is funny to me when some body says "oh no, not sushi!" but I know they would happily eat something off a food truck or from a run down fast food place without thinking anything of it. Or use their wood cutting board for both meat and veggies. Or not rinse the strawberries they just got at Publix. Most people simply don't think and go along with these silly "rules". I get the idea of the "you are awful for putting your baby at ANY risk" but it is crazy. You put your baby at higher risk every time you decide to drive someplace instead of take a helicopter... but certain things like money and convenience are part of the decision rather than it just being about the safest possible option. Dramatic comparison, but you get my point.

My advice: drink your tea. Any kind of tea other than those marketed towards women's health (regulating periods, etc.) like motherwort. Anything in your kroger grocer isle is fine and relatively weak herbally anyways. You can't get strong teas without either growing them or ordering from a specialty retailer/herbalist. Don't drink it all day every day. But don't eat the same foods all day every day either. I really do recommend the green leaf rooibos though, it is amazing and totally safe. Don't punish yourself for being pregnant! There are far more important things to spend your time obsessing about!

Want a personalized experience?

Can't drink any kind of tea during pregnancy?

Re: Can't drink any kind of tea during pregnancy?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards