Tea For Two

Drinking tea may ease nausea and even shorten your labor. But you need to know which kinds are safe.

By Amy Paturel

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The Caffeine Connection
Unlike herbal teas, which contain only about 0.4 milligrams of caffeine per cup, nonherbal teas (black, green and oolong) contain about 40 to 50 milligrams per cup. Sip four or five cups throughout the day, and you've gotten about 200 milligrams of caffeine. A recent study from Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Division of Research found that pregnant women who consumed more than 200 milligrams of caffeine daily had double the risk of miscarriage compared with those who avoided the stimulant.

Even at that level, some obstetricians, including Green, claim it's safe to drink caffeinated tea during pregnancy. "The caffeine issue has been overblown," she says. In fact, a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health found no association between intakes of up to 350 milligrams of caffeine and miscarriage.

Nevertheless, most experts agree it's best to use caution and limit caffeine intake if you can. "Caffeine in any form is too stimulating during pregnancy," says Hirota. "It also increases the load on the liver, which is already busy processing pregnancy hormones."

Pregnancy Teas

These varieties are considered safe based on information from the Natural Medicines Database.

Earth Mama Angel Baby
Peaceful Mama Tea, Morning Wellness Tea and Third Trimester tea, earthmamaangelbaby.com

Republic of Tea
Get Maternal/Be Well Red Tea, republicoftea.com Tea for Two Pregnancy Tea, fairhavenhealth.com Traditional Medicinals
Organic Pregnancy Tea, traditionalmedicinals.com

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October/November 2008