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December 2015 Moms
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What's the deal with tea?

stephaniearthursstephaniearthurs member
in December 2015 Moms
*i used the search function but there were 7+ pages and in the first 3 none mentioned my question *

So I have read in places that some teas (mostly herbal) are bad for you? My husband and I have a tradition of drinking tea and watching TV before bed. I've been worried about this because I read somewhere that certain teas can bring on labour (for if you are over do, but not at 24 weeks like I am). Does anyone know anything about this? Am I just crazy and reading into things?

Thanks ladies!
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Re: What's the deal with tea?

  • Sunny2015Sunny2015 member
    I know tea dehydrates you which can bring labor on early, but that's all I know. Sorry!
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  • mrs14678mrs14678 member
    Basically, from what I've researched, the regular herbal teas, like berry zinger type ones from Celestial Seasonings are, are fine. It's the raspberry and nettles (who actually drinks nettle tea, though??) that you have to be careful of.

    What kind of tea do you usually drink? I found that I am allergic to coffee, so I had been switching to tea, then found I was pregnant. So, I researched a lot!! If it's a supermarket brand, I may recognize it and be able to tell you if it's okay. *disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, I just did a LOT of research*
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  • ealiskaealiska member
    This drove me bonkers when I first got pregnant but my OB never mentioned it. So I feel like it can't be THAT important.

    If memory serves , ginger, peppermint, chamomile, and lemon teas (what I typically drink) are totally fine.
    The only change I made was that I switched from sleepy time extra (it contains valeran and says not to drink if you're pregnant) to regular sleepy time.
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  • Mizuiro007Mizuiro007 member
    You'd be surprised how many blends contain raspberry leaf and nettles. Just check the ingredients. I try to stick to one's with as few ingredients as possible to make it easier. In the past I would buy my tea in a local herb shop and one of the ladies there is a nutritionist and was very helpful with what was safe and not.

    Generally I would agree with the pp that said the common ones like chamomile, ginger and peppermint should be safe (just still check ingredients to make sure that's all you're getting).
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  • stephaniearthursstephaniearthurs member
    Thanks ladies! I love peppermint tea, and fruity berry teas (all from the super market) and Orange Pekoe. I know with black tea you have to be careful with caffeine.

    I have had the odd cup of mint tea, but tonight I really wanted a nice cup of Orange pekoe which actually makes me sleepy, because we used to have tea and toast as a bed time snack when we were kids! Lol

    I think it was the raspberry tea I was reading about and wondered if my regular raspberry Celestial Seasonings tea was fine!
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  • yankeebabemeyankeebabeme member
    i've only been drinking tea that says pregnancy safe .
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  • Beckah31Beckah31 member
    Most supermarket (general aisle- not the natural foods aisle- those can get a bit more risky) teas are safe, but large amounts of anything are bad. A cup a night of most things is safe according to my doctor- but he did say to limit peppermint oil and peppermint tea at the end of third tri because it can limit your milk supply. He followed with the fact that it's probably got to be a lot of mint, but I'm a tea drinker. All day every day and peppermint is my go to, so I have to cut back.
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  • stephaniearthursstephaniearthurs member
    yankeebabeme said:

    i've only been drinking tea that says pregnancy safe .

    I will have I check my stash!!

    Beckah31 said:

    Most supermarket (general aisle- not the natural foods aisle- those can get a bit more risky) teas are safe, but large amounts of anything are bad. A cup a night of most things is safe according to my doctor- but he did say to limit peppermint oil and peppermint tea at the end of third tri because it can limit your milk supply. He followed with the fact that it's probably got to be a lot of mint, but I'm a tea drinker. All day every day and peppermint is my go to, so I have to cut back.

    I go to the doctor on Friday, and i will ask!

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  • CmagnoCmagno member
    Sounds like you've gotten good advice and I think in moderation most teas are fine.

    I did find that peppermint and mint tea really messed with my milk supply when I was nursing. I'd never heard of that and someone warned me when LO was 3 months, I noticed a boost in supply when I cut back on my peppermint tea addiction! Oops. Just fyi since we will all be having babies around the holidays when peppermint everything is popular!
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  • haileeshailees member
    stephaniearthurs said:

    Thanks ladies! I love peppermint tea, and fruity berry teas (all from the super market) and Orange Pekoe. I know with black tea you have to be careful with caffeine.

    I have had the odd cup of mint tea, but tonight I really wanted a nice cup of Orange pekoe which actually makes me sleepy, because we used to have tea and toast as a bed time snack when we were kids! Lol

    I think it was the raspberry tea I was reading about and wondered if my regular raspberry Celestial Seasonings tea was fine!

    Lurker here from j16. The raspberry tea you need to be aware of is Raspberry Leaf Tea. Most of what I've read is that RLT is okay to drink in the 2nd/3rd trimesters (supposed benefit is that it tones the uterus). Raspberry leaf vs raspberry flavored tea is very different! Raspberry leaves are actually the last ingredient on the celestial seasonings raspberry tea and probably represented in a very low quality in that tea.

    Hope that helps!
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  • LeggoxMyxPreggoLeggoxMyxPreggo member
    This is actually a fascinating thread. I habe always opted for tea over coffee and I didn't hear about any of this until now. I like a lot of chinese herbal teas (oolong and white teas) and my irish breakfast tea I got in decaf for pregnancy...but now you ladies got me wondering! I dont go too crazy with it (5 am is not the time to drink tea) with work FT. but still...something to look into.

    Thanks for the heads up
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  • Beckah31Beckah31 member
    LeggoxMyxPreggo said:

    This is actually a fascinating thread. I habe always opted for tea over coffee and I didn't hear about any of this until now. I like a lot of chinese herbal teas (oolong and white teas) and my irish breakfast tea I got in decaf for pregnancy...but now you ladies got me wondering! I dont go too crazy with it (5 am is not the time to drink tea) with work FT. but still...something to look into.

    Thanks for the heads up

    Plain tea- oolong, white, black, green, Darjeeling- are actual tea from the tea plant and (aside from watching your caffeine intake) are safe. It's when they're combined with herbal non-food type items that they can cause issues, but you'd have to drink a lot. You're Irish breakfast (one of my personal faves) is safe. Moderation is everything. ;) but it's not always fun.
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  • kelseyofannekelseyofanne member
    Raspberry Leaf Tea is totally fine to drink in pregnancy, and especially recommended toward the end as it helps get your uterus ready for birth! Earth Mama Angel Baby (crazy name for a company but whatever) has teas specific to where you're at - like a 3rd Trimester Tea, Milk supply enhancing tea, etc. My friend told me their products really helped her out especially post partum!
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  • kmwzkmwz member
    I asked my doctor when I first hit my 2nd trimester if herbal or pregnancy teas were safe and he had no issue with it as long as I wasn't drinking them constantly. Like others have already mentioned, maybe just try and stick to the teas that have minimal ingredients.
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  • redfallonredfallon member
    The only tea for me...

    image

    Jamie


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  • whit3183whit3183 member
    edited September 2015
    If you're worried about herbal tea, there are a lot of good decaf black teas out there.  Twinnings makes decaf English Breakfast and Earl Grey.  The Republic of Tea has a great decaf version of Earl Greyer.  

    Though I've never tried them, I know there are some brands that make tea specific for pregnancy, which presumably would be safe. 

    And BTW, I'm mentioning decaf versions only because you said you wanted to drink them before bed.  I'm personally of the mindset that a regular cup or two of black tea per day is fine -- it's still well beneath the 200 mg/day limit.
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  • TomekiaBTomekiaB member
    I drove myself nuts researching this in the 1st trimester. Some chamomile is fine other variety might not be (no one specifies what type of chamomile they use...). I came to the conclusion of the previous poster that regular cheap grocery store tea is unlikely to be an issue in moderation. If it was powerful enough to be do anything it would be sold with a health claim and they would charge more for it! 

    Avoid anything that makes health claims like "weight loss" in Senna tea which is a laxative, anything with ginko for "memory" etc. 

    I stopped drinking my tea from Chinatown in San Fran that made health claims (helps with headaches and memory). I limit myself to loose leaf green, black or white tea or packets from twinnings or celestial seasoning types of tea. I don't drink more than one serving of any flavor in a day (you can brew the same bag or loose leaf 2-3 times--but the caffiene and active ingredients are mostly consumed in the first serving supposedly). Tea seems to be regulated like supplements so this is more my theory than anything legit I could find since the ingredients and research are both vague.
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  • laurabwalkerlaurabwalker member
    I agree that it seems like it's more of you go get a specialty tea that has medicinal properties, not a grocery store tea that has to be within some sort of regulation. I asked my midwife about chamomile at first and she seemed surprised and said that most basic teas can be drank without issue unless you are allergic, and she said most products say to ask a medical professional "just in case" not because they have been proven to harm pregnancies. Also one thing that I looked into is that the decafinating process can actually cause chemicals within decaf drinks, which could potentially be more "harmful" then the 50mg of caffeine in a drink.
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  • KimlovescatsKimlovescats member
    Tea with caffeine is fine if you stay under like 150-300mg a day. I can't even imagine drinking that much with how much I'd be going to the bathroom!!! an average cup of tea is maybe 50mg of caffeine. 

    I can't get through the day without it being in school full time, I would fall asleep in a lecture if I didn't (and I have). And I am not giving up chocolate. 

    But if you want to be a purist and avoid it, that is totally cool too. 

    And yeah I have heard too that raspberry leaf in 3rd trimester is good for uterus, but not in first.
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  • stephaniearthursstephaniearthurs member
    Thanks for all your advice ladies! I was seriously worried about drinking tea! It's nice to have that option back! Also I need to buy some decaf tea!!
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