What Teas Are Safe to Drink While Pregnant?

High amounts of caffeine are linked to several birth complications. Teas that are safe to drink while pregnant include rooibos, lemon balm, ginger, and fruit teas.

During your pregnancy, you want to do whatever you can to ensure the health and well-being of your baby. This includes ensuring you eat a healthy diet full of the nutrients your little one needs to grow and develop. In fact, there’s a whole list of foods and drinks that women are told to limit or avoid during pregnancy, including caffeine. So, when it comes to something like tea, which options are safe? Here’s what you need to know about "pregnancy tea," including what to drink and what to skip.

Caffeine is a natural stimulant, so it causes your heart rate to quicken and your blood pressure to rise. It’s also a diuretic, which means that it might make you urinate more frequently. Using the bathroom too much without proper hydration, though, can lower the fluid levels in your body and leave you dehydrated.

Since your baby gets nutrients from what you eat and drink, it also receives doses of caffeine whenever you do. If caffeine keeps you awake, it’s also keeping your baby awake, which means that sleep and movement patterns are affected in the womb. High amounts of caffeine are linked to several birth complications, including low birth weight, stillbirth, and miscarriage.

Because of this, many women are told to limit their caffeine intake while pregnant. For many, this means limiting or eliminating popular drinks like soda, coffee, and tea. You may wonder, though: Is any tea okay to drink while pregnant?

Not all tea is caffeinated, which is why many people turn to a relaxing brew to calm down during times of stress. Consequently, there are many varieties of herbal teas that are safe to drink during pregnancy and are said to even have several health benefits. Still, while many of these are safe, the FDA warns that some haven’t been studied enough to be confident of their positive (or negative) effects.

Most herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free and made from several different parts of plants, including:

• Leaves
• Roots
• Seeds
• Berries

You can find herbal teas at all grocery stores and many health food stores. Most commercially prepared herbal tea is considered to be safe during pregnancy, but you should never prepare herbal tea using plants that you have collected yourself.

Here are some of the best teas to drink while pregnant. They are safe and might even help relieve some pregnancy symptoms:

• Rooibos: This tea is believed to help with gastrointestinal problems, so it can help treat digestive issues. Rooibos also lowers levels of cortisol, so it has a calming effect.
• Ginger: Some people believe that ginger tea can relieve morning sickness, constipation, and nausea. However, you shouldn’t eat or drink more than 5 grams of ginger per day while pregnant.
• Fruit teas: Any kind of fruit tea is safe and delicious. These teas contain lots of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, which can help you stay healthy while pregnant.
• Lemon balm: Many pregnant women report drinking lemon balm tea while pregnant to relieve stress and insomnia.

Red raspberry leaf tea is another common tea that women drink later in pregnancy because it’s believed to help induce labor, but more research is needed to confirm this.

While green tea has long been touted as a miracle drink with several health benefits, some women question if it’s safe to drink during pregnancy since it contains caffeine. Studies show that drinking more than 150 to 200 milligrams of caffeine each day can have negative effects on pregnancy.

Luckily, unlike coffee, one cup of green tea contains just 20 to 50 milligrams of caffeine. Having one cup of green tea each day can give you a little bit of caffeine, then, if you need it, in addition to all of the other benefits that are linked to green tea, including a decreased risk of cancer and diabetes, improved bone health, and memory loss prevention. 

Low to moderate amounts of caffeine should not be an issue during your pregnancy, though you should speak to your doctor before assuming that this is true in your case.

Black tea has higher levels of caffeine per cup than green tea: about 45 milligrams per 6 ounces. You don’t need to avoid it, but be mindful of how much you’re drinking. 

On the other hand, there are some teas that you should avoid completely while pregnant. Sage is safe to use while cooking during pregnancy, but sage tea is linked to possible miscarriage and high blood pressure. It’s best to avoid concentrated sage during your pregnancy. 

Parsley tea is another one to avoid. High concentrations of this herb are linked to possible miscarriage and can affect the way that your baby develops in the womb.

St. John’s Wort tea can be harmful to both Mom and baby since studies show that it has embryotoxic effects. 

Licorice root tea can raise your blood pressure, so it should be avoided as well. 

Lastly, during the first trimester, you should avoid nettle tea since it can dehydrate you and strain your kidneys. However, it is typically safe to drink later on in your pregnancy.

Part of staying well during your pregnancy means drinking plenty of non-caffeinated fluids. While doctors recommend drinking eight glasses of water a day, pregnant women should aim to have at least one more, as that extra hydration will benefit both you and your baby. Orange juice is also a good option since it contains lots of vitamins and minerals (especially juice that’s fortified with calcium).

Water is especially important in your third trimester, as it can help prevent constipation. Make sure that you’re drinking sanitary water, though. If it comes from a source like a well or spring, be sure to boil it first to remove any impurities.