Green Tea

[emgrae]

Hi everyone,
I'm about 6 wks pregnant with my first, and made the mistake of doing a lot of googling which has me freaked out about everything. I'm especially worried about green tea--I was drinking 2-3 cups a day until I read a couple days ago that it can inhibit the absorption of folic acid and contribute to neural tube defects. Now I'm totally worried that I completely screwed up. Does anyone have experience with this? Should I be panicking? Thank you!!

 

[Smille24]

I've read conflicting articles on this. Some say it's ok in moderation due to caffeine and others say it's not safe due to absorption of folic acid. I'd definitely ask a dr. I like green tea myself, but won't be drinking any unless the dr okays it.

 

[Peanut112]

I heard that it's a great source of folic acid, nothing about being harmful at all as long as it's strictly Green Tea and nothing else added. I wouldn't worry about it, just eat your leafy greens and a balanced diet (or prenatals) and it should all turn out okay!

 

[hope2bmother]

I'm a green tea addict and was consuming multiple cups a day. I continued this habit in very early pregnancy, but then decided to limit the amount I drank based on what others told me (inhibiting folic acid absorption, restricting blood flow). My baby was born without any neural tube defects. I don't think you need to worry. Just limit it to a small cup a day and everything should be okay.

 

[broodymrs]

I drank loads until I was about 5/6 weeks pregnant and my little boy is absolutely fine. Just stick to decaf

 

[emgrae]

Thank you all so much for these responses. I feel so much calmer now!!