Caffeine while pregnant?! No protein in diet? Is the baby safe??

My friend went to a clinic that helps women and children and she bought birth control and the nurse told her she would not get pregnant after taking the first weeks pills. She started having unprotected sex with her boy friend and got pregnant. She is now about 7 weeks and I'm worried for her an her baby because she drinks a lot of tea. Not decaffeinated. Ive been told that caffeine can harm the baby. Is this in fact true? She drinks between 3-6 cups of tea every day. She eats for the most part healthy but being a vegetarian is missing protein in her diet; could that effect the baby too? I'm worried about her; being both teenagers we have no idea what is good and bad durring pregnancy. please help me out.

Thanks!

[climbergirl]

Tea doesn't have as much caffeine as say coffee does. It is okay in moderate amounts when pregnant. In high doses it's been shown to have a link to increased chances of miscarriage, but I haven't read anything about it causing birth defects. You could google it to find out more. Most women avoid caffeine altogether as a precaution but that is a personal decision that the pregnant woman needs to make for herself.

Being a vegetarian isn't a problem when pregnant either. She must be getting protein from some sources because she'd be sick if she wasn't pregnant or not. There are several non-meat sources of protein, yogurt, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, rice/almond milk, nuts, beans/legumes, eggs, peanut and other nut butters, etc. You can look them up online, but those are just a few.

It's great that you are so concerned for your friend and her baby, but more important than worrying about her tea intake or her protein consumption, you should make sure she's getting good prenatal care. It's an easier way to make sure questions like the ones you are asking are addressed by a medical professional and she's more likely to listen to a OB telling her how to take care of her baby than a teenage friend. Good luck!

[Vickeyloo]

Thanks for the advice.
:)
and she eats a lot cheese so I'm guessing she getting some protein

She's going to book an appointment with a doctor in the up comming weeks

[jana09]

i drank alot of tea and apple juice and also smoked while i was pg with my son. he is going on 3 yrs old now and is healthy