Most tea is safe to drink during pregnancy and makes a great lower-caffeine substitute for coffee. Just note that some teas may contain herbs or ingredients that haven’t been tested for safety during pregnancy.
Avoid teas with pennyroyal, comfrey, yarrow, goldenseal, valerian, nettle root and licorice root or guarana, or any ingredients you don’t recognize. Avoid any tea that is marketed to promote weight loss, these will usually contain higher-than-normal levels of caffeine.
When it comes to caffeine, pregnant women are urged to keep caffeine intake under 150 – 200 mg. a day, and a cup of tea will have between 3- 90 mg. of caffeine in it. The type of tea, the brewing time and even the temperature of the water used to brew all affect the caffeine content. The nice thing about tea, though, is that caffeine content doesn’t change with the serving size. One tea bag will have the same amount of caffeine no matter how much water you add.
White Tea | 30-55 mg |
Green Tea | 35-70 mg |
Oolong Tea | 50-75 mg |
Black Tea | 60-90 mg |