Is black tea safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about black tea during pregnancy?

1. An 8-ounce cup of black tea carries about 48 mg of caffeine, roughly a third of what the same size cup of coffee has, so it fits easily within the 200 mg daily total most experts suggest during pregnancy. 1
2. The tannins in black tea latch onto iron in your gut and form a clump your body can't absorb, so a cup poured alongside an iron-rich meal blocks some of that iron before it ever gets used. 2
3. In a clinical study, drinking black tea with meals cut iron absorption significantly compared with drinking water instead, the same effect doctors sometimes lean on to help patients who carry too much iron, not too little. 3
4. Pregnancy raises your iron target by 50%, up to 27 mg a day, and plant compounds called polyphenols, the same family as tea's tannins, are already known to block iron absorption from food. 4
5. Falling short on iron during pregnancy raises your own risk of anemia and your baby's risk of low birth weight and early delivery, which is exactly why a small timing habit like this is worth keeping. 5

Is black tea safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Morning sickness might make hot tea soothing, or it might be the last thing you want, and both reactions are normal. If you're just starting a prenatal vitamin, get in the habit now of drinking tea an hour or so apart from it.
• Second trimester. Your blood volume is expanding fast and your iron target has already climbed to 27 mg a day. This is a common point for a provider to check an iron level, so keep spacing tea away from your prenatal and any iron-rich meals.
• Third trimester. Caffeine clears more slowly from your body in the third trimester, so the same cup of tea lingers longer than it used to. Iron needs are at their highest right now too, which makes the hour-apart habit worth keeping through delivery.