Is black tea safe during pregnancy? It is no secret that real tea contains caffeine. The amount of substance depends on the type of tea you choose. So is it good or bad during pregnancy?
Not all real teas are produced in the same way and some are almost as strong as the coffee. Therefore it is best to follow the instructions, which applies to both coffee and tea.
Caffeine intake in pregnancy should be reduced to 200 mg per day. In this case, you can drink 2 cups of coffee per day.
Due to the fact that caffeine can affect your blood pressure, it is certainly dangerous to exceed that caffeine quantity.
Most pregnant women are careful and keep avoiding coffee, while they forget that real tea also contains caffeine.
Therefore, let’s look at how much tea you can drink during the 9 months without risking children’s health.
How much caffeine is in black tea?
I am sure that you look at the ingredients of your favorite drink. Usually, there are a lot of herbs and natural ingredients that look completely harmless.
However, some types of tea contain substances that are potentially dangerous for pregnant women.
Tea leaves
On average, the tea leaves contain 3% of the caffeine by weight.
However, the percentage can range from 1.4 to 4.5%. Therefore, it is important to understand that the same type of tea can have different amounts of caffeine.
The amount depends from the processing type, water temperature and steeping time of tea leaves in the water.
For example, a real tea that soaked in hot water for a long time will be stronger and contain more caffeine. At the same time, small leaves will release more caffeine than larger ones.
How much caffeine is in a cup of black tea?
Black tea contains 23-110 mg of caffeine but for general guidance, we can say that 1 cup of the drink (2 dcl) has 47 mg of caffeine on average.
Once you know how much caffeine is in your cup, it is much easier to decide whether it is healthy or not during pregnancy.
For example, if your favorite tea contains 20 mg of caffeine, then you don’t need to give up drinking it.
If it doesn’t contain other potentially dangerous substances for the pregnancy then you can drink it in normal amounts.
How caffeine affects the fetus?
Consuming caffeine during pregnancy may have certain risks. Morning coffee or a cup of black tea won’t jeopardize the normal development of the fetus.
But any exaggeration can cause some unnecessary troubles. The fetus absorbs caffeine through the placenta and the umbilical cord.
Adults have the ability of faster caffeine degradation thanks to the many biochemical processes in the body. Fetus works a bit differently.
Its biochemical processes are not capable of efficient decomposition of caffeine. Caffeine stays in the fetus longer time and reaches a dangerously high level over a prolonged period.
Caffeine also affects other aspects of the fetus’s health. It is known that caffeine increases his heart rate, which may affect its intrauterine movement.
Caffeine is a diuretic, which can affect the eating of the fetus. The substance causes a lower absorption of iron and calcium from the blood, which may hamper the different fetus developmental stages.
Teas that you should avoid
As I have already mentioned, drinking black tea and other real teas is not recommendable during pregnancy because they contain caffeine.
Therefore, it is advisable that you limit your caffeine intake. Caffeine is in black tea, oolong, pu’erh, and green tea.
Teas that contain ingredients such as St. John’s Wort, ginseng, licorice and yarrow are also on the list of unwanted teas during pregnancy.
You should also limit drinking chai and chamomile, despite its beneficial effects. Generally speaking, you can enjoy a cup of chamomile tea under normal circumstances.
Pomegranate tea
A few other teas are not recommendable during pregnancy. Some people discourage drinking pomegranate tea because of possible side-effects, although there is no scientific evidence of them.
Although pomegranate is an excellent source of vitamin C and helps with immune function, it is still not recommended to drink during pregnancy because its side-effects are still not scientifically proven.
Which teas you can drink in smaller quantities?
You can drink hibiscus, rosemary, and sage in smaller quantities with the prior discussion with your doctor.
Which teas are okay to drink during pregnancy?
If you will drink those that are on the so-called safe list, you have nothing to worry about. In fact, it is recommendable that you enjoy drinking them due to its positive effects.
Teas on the safe list
- Ginger
- Raspberry leaf
- Mint
- Tea made from dandelion leaves
- Lemon-balm
- Nettle
- Rooibos
All these teas are appropriate and desirable to drink during pregnancy due to its positive effects on the body.
Tea manufacturers offer a variety of different teas for our enjoyment, so it is easy to choose the one you love.
Stay away from those that invigorates
Pregnant women should be careful about what they consume. If you are pregnant you should be careful about what you eat and what you drink.
You should consider on nutrition even after giving birth because you will breastfeed.
You should be extra careful about the caffeine intake. So, is black tea safe during pregnancy? Too much caffeine can affect negatively your fetus.
The fetus doesn’t have such an efficient system for caffeine degradation so it can stay in it for a longer time than in adults.
It can cause different side-effects such as increased heart rate, may affect its intrauterine movement and feeding.
It can also hamper the different developmental stages of the fetus which you don’t want.
Pregnancy is a beautiful experience. It is your responsibility to take care of your unborn child so you should know which are prohibited substances during the pregnancy.
Black tea is a real tea that contains caffeine and therefore isn’t recommendable to drink it in large quantities while carrying a baby.
Be a responsible mother and limit caffeine intake so your child will be healthy and proud of his mother.
