Caffeine/Tea

[sophiad]

Morning all
Was wondering how many cups of tea you pregnant ladies limit yourselves to a day?! I'm starting to feel guilty becuase read all the time about caffiene in baby books etc. I probably have about 2 cups a day in work (paper cup things), they don't have a decaf option, so this is where the guilt is coming from! I have decaf bags at home which I use. If it's a bad day though, I may have 3 cups a day.....Feeling guilty about it, but I do love my tea!

Some sites say 4 cups of normal strength tea, some say 2. I stick to 1 and have decaf if any more. That way, if I have anything else with caffeine in like cola or chocolate, I don't feel I need to worry. But I am being over cautious (and I like chocolate!).

Up to about 14weeks I was having about five cups a day- a couple of which were decaf. I was worried about the caffeine intake but I needn't have been as I went off tea altogether. Am now 38 weeks and can't tell you when the last cup of tea I had was!

I am tea addict and have swapped regular tea for decaff. I'm so used to it that I can't tell the difference any more. I take my own tea bags into work as they don't have decaff.

I am normally a tea addict, usually I only drink coffee at work as I feel I need to boost!!

I have pretty much completely given up coffee (think I have had one or two lattes) and have cut tea back to two cups a day and then have decaff if I want it but tbh I don't like decaff that much but maybe a different brand would be better.

I do have days where I have three cups of tea, usually work days......and don't feel guilty. I think the risks are tiny but I don't go above three.

37 wks here and I have consistently had 2/3 cups of tea or coffee (or cans of coke) per day 5 days per week. I don't drink it on a weekend as I use decaf and don't need the pick up I do at work. Just started may leave and am on raspberry tea now, it's a lot easier when I don't NEED to achieve stuff

I looked into this a bit at the start, unfortunately can't find the links right now. From what I recall, there's no real evidence that shows any clear causal link between caffeine consumption and any harm. There is some evidence that shows a correlation between a slightly higher miscarriage rate and caffeine consumption, but not all studies show that so any connection is still pretty speculative. also any increased risk is still probably tiny.

It seems to me it's another guideline that's based on being overly cautious as they can't say anything for definite. I've carried drinking the same amount of coffee as before which isn't loads but is probably a bit more than the guidelines.

My midwife said 4 cups of tea, I made an effort to cut down in first pg have two in the morning and a mid afternoon (I have a v small cup) leaving a bit of leaway incase I got for a coffee or something. It actually stuck as caffene also passes through to breastmilk so I kept off the tea then too well only 2-3 cups anyway. Though I do worry a bit this time around when I eat a lot of chocalate too.

Well I like to be overly cautious during pregnancy. I dont care how small the risks or earing or drinking something is, pregnancy is a time where I prefer not to take any risk however small.

I agree with Brug, I think the links are inconclusive, however there's more evidence for that then there are risks of, say, going for a walk, so I'm seeing this as an opportunity to be a little healthier and I nip out for a quick walk most afternoons at work. I do find that helps a lot and colleagues are usually more than happy to join me so it's good all round!

I haven't limited at all. I only drink coffee, and usually I need at least 3 or 4 cups to get going on a work day. That said, I've really gone off it since being pregnant, and probably only have 1-2 cups per day at most now. I still can't live without the first cup of the day.
I'm 21 weeks now and at my scan on Monday, the newly-sexed Nipperette was A-ok and so it hasn't done me or her much harm so far.

I've switched to decaf - Yorkshire decaf is excellent - you'll not know the difference

Normal tea seemed to trigger off my motioning sickness so k switched to decaf too. The only caffiene I get is from chocolate! Can you take decaf tea bags to work?

I've been having one coffee a day as it is such a part of my work routine I feel very weird without it.

Pre pregnancy I was on up to ten pints of tea a day. At around 10 weeks I went completely off it, and didn't have any for a fortnight. Fortunately that didn't last. I'm now on three or four pints a day (unless I visit my dad, whose kettle is always on). The main reason I cut down was because I'm peeing enough as it is!

Thanks for the replies girls! I never drink fizzy drinks and am not a big chocholate fan either (I know I'm a freak hehe), so think 2/3 a day should be ok. I can take decaf bags to work but all we have are those horrible instant milk sachets, which are awful with real bags! We have those Flavia instant machine things, they do a decaf option but my work told me there's not enough demand for it to order me some....Nice eh! Anyhoo....I find I can't survive without that first cup of the day, so I'll treat myself to that and see how the rest of the day finds me ;-)

Badgerina - Noooooo!
I LOVE Yorkshire Tea. If I go to a friend's house and they have anything else it throws me, as nothing else tastes anywhere near as good.
But the decaff version is vile. It's nothing like the real thing, IMO.

As a result - and as a tea addict whose spent the last eight months desperately trying to find an acceptable caffeine-free version - I've been forced to admit defeat.
I've tried them all and they're just not right.
So for me, it's three cups of ordinary Yorkshire Tea a day, then Rooibus tea or raspberry leaf in the evenings.

Twinings decaf earl grey is nice. It's the only drinkable decaf I found but I love normal earl grey, if you don't then it'll taste rubbish. Unfortunately I've gone right off tea since being pregnant (i was a 20 a day before), and I never liked coffee anyway. Hot chocolate has become my hot drink treat. And I'm loving diet coke at the minute which is weird as I hate it normally, I'm a full fat girl. I'm trying to stick to no more than two a day of either.

Until 2nd trimester I had decaf tea (which is rubbish!). Now on a normal day I'll have one cup of regular, maybe two if I'm really tired which is happening more often now that I'm not sleeping well (25 wks). I have occasional sips of coffee if DH is having some, but not a whole one.