Green Tea and Pregnancy

[kas834]

I am 38 years old and just found out that I am 5 weeks pregnant (5 and a half now)!  As soon as I found out, I read information regarding what to eat/not eat during pregnancy.  I thought I was pretty clear on things until I was told today that drinking green tea during pregnancy is a bad thing because it absorbs folic acid and prevents it from getting to baby, potentially resulting in neural tube defects!  I read not to drink caffeinated beverages but nothing ever mentioned green tea specifically.  For the last 3 and a half weeks, I have been drinking green tea (~ 2 cups a day) and am wondering if I have done any damage?  Now that I know that green tea is a no-no, I will obviously stop drinking it but has the damage already been done???  Thanks!

[rebekah385]

as long as you are taking a prenatal it should be ok, and after 12 weeks it is fine too! I like green tea and asked my Dr specifically about it, drinking a lot in the first trimester can block some of your folic acid, but it is quite a bit and after 12 weeks you really don't need the folic acid anyway, it mostly just helps in the first few weeks and right before you get pregnant! stop drinking it until your out of the first trimester, but you should be fine!

[Clysta]

It also says that there are too few studies for anything to be conclusive on this, so many say that as long as it's done in moderation you should be fine.

[Clysta]

I think the biggest concern is the caffeine in it. If you do drink it, just don't go overboard with it. I found this.

One study has linked neural tube defects in babies to women drinking lots of green tea at the time of conception. There still is much research needed in this field to determine if women who are considering getting pregnant should be drinking green tea. Some even maintain that even drinking one cup a day still gives mothers the chance to reap the benefits of green tea but won’t affect the folate a mother needs.

I guess just go with your gut feeling.

[Majikat]

It not something I would chance with personally.... I want to do as much as possible to enssure a healthy baby...

[Heatherm4]

I've been drinking it through my whole pregnancy. I don't have very much and I drink it in the morning. I take my vitamins in the evening so I'm sure there's plenty of time for the folic acid to absorb. Just don't drink it in excess.

[Majikat]

It does intefere with colic acid getting to the baby  which Is rather important in early pregnancy

[Limonada]

I didn't know that green tea was unsafe during pregnancy!  I drank decaf green tea more than a few times when I was pregnant, both times!  Both of my boys are fine.....I was taking folic acid supplements during both pregnancies, even before I got pregnant.  

My OB actually told me that, past the first trimester, I didn't even need to take any folic acid (I still did, though....it made me feel better somehow).

[alaysha]

The only problem ive ever heard with green tea is the caffine. But during pregnancy you can have 200mg a day of caffine so 2 cups isnt really that bad. Ive drank it my whole pregnancy both pregnancies and nothing is wrong with either of them.

[Majikat]

Just stop drinking it now and take your vitamins everyday... I'm sure everything will be fine but remember up till 10 weeks is critical brain development so make sure you don't drink any more... You can drink red tea which is delicious... I drank green tea a couple times cause I didn't know that it was in the bubble tea I was drinking and at my 12 week ultrasound there were no neural tube defects seen....