Methylene chloride decaf process pregnancy help

[Expectingfirstbaby23]

Just drank a grande iced white mocha from Starbucks (decaf) only to find out Starbucks use methylene chloride to decaf there coffee which after stupidly googling apparently is really harmful and uses all these chemicals that aren’t good for pregnancy and can cause damage to fetus. I’m 18 weeks and had a scan yesterday she was perfect now I’m absolutely worried I’ve harmed her. I’m in uk don’t know if that’s relevant . Did anyone else drink Starbucks decaf throughout pregnancy and everything was okay? Yes I have anxiety and midwife knows before any comments :(

I am very conscious about this sort of thing whether I'm pregnant or not, and I do not think one decaf coffee will effect your baby in any way.

I definitely wouldn't be drinking them regularly - but lots of people would and do!

If you want a nice alternative at home then look up Exhale coffee!

@oliveandwell i really didn’t know it was bad . Had one when I was 4 weeks pregnant now this was my second at 18 weeks so it’s definitely not a regular thing , now I’m just worried :( hopefully she’ll be okay and I’m gonna stay clear

Your baby will be just fine, most of the chemical residue will have been burned off in the roasting process. Big coffee companies (and many small ones) have their coffee tested by labs to make sure everything is as it should be (like testing organic coffees to confirm no pesticides etc).
if you are concerned about trace amounts of chemicals, look for decaf which has gone through water processing (sometimes called mountain water processing) which is chemical free.

Baby will be absolutely fine, I promise it's not worth worrying about.

I drank Starbucks decaf at least twice a week through two pregnancies and both fine. I had no idea it was an issue but preliminary Google suggests the risk is probably very low, if any, so I would likely have carried on.

Best thing you can do during pregnancy is to stay off google. A lot of it applies to other countries and there’s so much conflicting advice . Just stick to the nhs list, don’t google things as tempting as it is. It’s good that your midwife is aware of your anxiety, it’s so important to get in touch with the maternity mental health team and get help to manage it before it spirals out of hand.

Your baby will be fine.

I guarantee that this will not have damaged your baby, OP.

This is something I and hundreds of other women would drink without a second thought, or even thinking about googling it!

If this genuinely caused harm to unborn babies it would be a national scandal, pregnant women drink decaf all the time. As PP said, step away from Google, and just use the NHS guidance for what to avoid.