Drinking Chai While Pregnant - Opinions?

I agree with Kirstin. I too drank a cup a day while prego and learned you have to drink quite a bit to effect the babe...there is TOO much info out there so be careful on where you get it and take it with a grain of salt. Have your cup a day, enjoy your pregnancy. Just get enough rest, eat well and take care of yourself...

K.,

If you are looking for a Chai Latte alternative that is healthy for you try Guayaki Chai Latte Concentrate (www.Guayaki.com). It's all organic, healthy energy and comes pre-sweetened with organic cane juice. You mix it half and half with steamed milk. It's FABULOUS!!! The cost for one bottle is about $4.99 and makes eight 8oz glasses.

You can check out a video I made reviewing the stuff at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj5A5bVonVk

Also, if you do go online and order from Guayaki, put in promo code "Genesis" and it will give you a 20% discount.

Have a wonderful weekend. And congrats on your pregnancy!

To Your Health,

R. W., CMT
www.RebeccaWithey.com

I drank Chai latte's almost everyday during my pregnancy and did not experience any problems with the pregnancy and delivered a healthy baby boy. The caffeine from the black tea is less than the amount you get from a cup of coffee and it helped me to get in my dairy requirements too. I recommend switching to the decaf Chai (they sell it at Safeway)if you will be drinking it regularly as I know Starbuck and Peets don't carry decaf.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Best of luck.

Hi K., My Name Is M.. I'm Not A Doctor But I Would Suggest If You Are Interested In A Specialty Drink You Consider Another. If I'm Correct The Chai Syrup Used At A Starbucks Has More Caffeine Than Coffee Because It Is So Concentrated And Is Made Of Many Spices That Are Rich. You Can Ask For A Booklet Of Drinks Any Where You May Find Specialty Drinks And They Will Be More Than Happy To Find You Something That May Be Pleasing To Your Pallet Until Your Little One Is Here. Have A Good Pregnacy K. And Good Luck Finding A Drink.

I agree with Jennifer K, a little coffee is fine during pregnancy. I drank a short americano almost everyday from Starbucks during my pregnancy with my daughter and she is fine. My drink only had one shot of espresso, but of course it is about what you are comfortable with, so in short I think Chai will be fine.

chai has caffeine too! Caffeine Free herbal teas, I liked Good Earth. I drank a lot of crystal light but I had gestational diabetes so most other juices/drinks were out.

I drink a lot of tea while I am pregnant. There is one tea called Pregnancy Tea. It has some great ingredients and if you add some cream it tastes great. The best part is that I don't have to have any qualms about drinking it. If I want to go to Starbucks I will get a decaf or even a halfcaf mocha sometimes.

Great choice! The lower caffeine in tea is absolutely fine for you during pregnancy, plus tea has all sorts of wonderful antioxidents, and the milk is an excellent source of protein and calcium.

However, commercial Chai mixes (including Starbucks) have TONS of sugar -- so watch it. Here's what I do: I order (or make) non-fat steamed milk with 2 Chai tea bags -- no water --and then I add a small amount of sugar or Splenda. MUCH healthier, and you get a good dose of protein for your morning!

Happy pregnancy!

ANy caffeine is really not good for a growing fetus. Ive read that its even worse than a little alcohol- not that that is good either. Try Rooibos tea- it is naturally decaf and has so many vitamens and minerals. Try www.sagebugtea.com

Anything that goes into your body, goes to your baby too. So, think about how you feel when you drink coffee or any beverage with caffeine in it - you kind of get a little high or kick, and that goes for your baby too. My chiropractor who specializes in pediatrics and pregnancy says caffeine is a big no no in general, but especially during pregnancy. Oregan Chai makes a great decaf chai as does Tazo. Hope this helps.

Good Earth teas make a great decaffeinated chai!

Caffiene is the thing you need to stay away from. But there are MANY many decaf chai's you can try, for the taste.
Also many herbal teas that replace the old coffee tastes. Celestial Seasonings has Begal Tiger (A yummy cinnamon one).
Yogi teas have great alternatives decafs too.
Also there are several different substitutes like Teecinno in Java flavor, Vanilla nut (my favorite) and Hazelnut. Brew it (herbal) like using coffee grains through a regular drip format. You can pick this up at a Whole Foods market for about $7 per can.
Even regular market have some decaf chais in teh cooffee tea section.
Since you NEEd protein here's a tip. Take your blender and put in milk or soy milk or even better yet almond milk (get at TRader Joe's or Whole foods, and add a dash of yogurt and then then protein powder (for a protein lift-feeds you & baby) and add any off the decaf chai teas, add stevia for sweeting and not sugar and blend! On hot days add ice or ice cream.
Try making your own protein fruit smooties too!
And last but not least try veggie drinks, like "greens" probiotic blends as ou get so many veggie vitamins & minerals and not have to eat a ton. I love something called 'Miracle GReens"
Try google searching any of this!!!
Just remember, anything you get into your blood system goes in that baby so feed your self well, balanced and for both of you. You only have one shot to deveolpe major organs so don't skimp and you can excercise off weith gain later. The child's 'whole body & mind' is worth it. You have to live them!! and LOVE them. It's soooo worth it. I raised my girl, as a single mom as a vegetarian and she is now 18 and just find and a strong smart mind and is now in a major university.
Take care,
jmama ____@____.com

I think it's a good idea generally to reduce caffeine, but make it something that agrees with you and the baby....trial and error will show what works best. My son moved around like crazy when I had chai (even worse when I made it a mocha) so I avoided it altogether.

For a number of health reasons, I made the decision to go from caffeine junkie (coffee, tea, sodas all day) to cutting out caffeine altogether. I found a product called Teecino that made all the difference. Instead of caffeine, it has potassium and inulin (which is alkaline instead of acid like coffee and many other things in my diet) and it is all natural and super healthy. I am so glad I made the switch! It is a coffee like product and has a chai and mocha version (I am drinking Maya Mocha right now) I sleep better, I found it easier to release that annoying five pounds I was hanging onto and I have much more energy without the icky spiky feeling!

I think it's a better alternative than coffee. It's made with black tea which does have the highest caffeine of teas but it's still less than coffee. I'm 18wks & am doing organic decaf(well sometimes Starbucks decaf mochas which I know I'm getting a chocolate caffeine kick but I can't resist!), just because I enjoy coffee so much, plus I'm a habitual person, and getting up to have coffee & going to the gym is what gets me there! I know mainstream docs say a much higher level of caffeine is fine but from my research I think it's really hard on baby's nervous system. We get that caffeine buzz for a few hours and it fizzles, in our babies it takes much much longer to get out of their system and when the little guys are trying to develop & grow all their body parts, organs, systems & functions I think it would stress on the lil munchkins. I sincerely believe that taking most of the caffeine out of my diet with my last pregnancy contributed to my last baby being so calm & a fabulous sleeper. But you have to do what works for you, if you were a 5 cup a day before, you may need a different level to function than another mom. Decaf coffee has 5-20mg per 8oz. cup, black tea 40-70mg, coffee 80-100mg. Good luck!

Is it the "Chai" that you crave, or the caffeine? If it's the Chai you can get decaffeinated Vanilla Chai, or regular decaffeinated Chai tea at the grocery store.
If it's the caffeine you crave,...I substituted green tea for my caffeine. I drank one cup per day during my entire pregnancy. I actually read that I should drink one cup of green tea per day to promote becoming pregnant at a natural foods vitamin shoppe in Healdsburg.
So after drinking my 'Starbucks iced venti green tea with no "classic" sweetener and one pump of melon' for my entire pregnancy,...I am HOOKED! In fact, the other day, I "pampered" myself to a Starbucks skinny-latte and was so totally buzzed from the caffeine that I felt uncomfortable.
.....Anyways, enough about me, good luck and, rule-of-thumb, do whatever it is that your doctor says is OK.
from S..

Hello, I drank chai tea while prego, not everyday and nothing more than a small or reg. cup. I never drankl starbucks more out of preference. but if you buy it for at home THERE IS decaf chai. plus there is chai "tea" and chai tea latte.

Just have your tea and drink it tooo!!! :P

Chai is fine! Americans are overly pyschotic about the littlest things!!! A little caffeine is ok. Even a coffee a day is ok. Of course, moderation is essential, but people get a little over-obsessed with every little thing. 5 cups a day is not good, but one cup of coffee or drink with caffeine in it per day is absolutely fine. I had a little coffee each day and both of my daughters are absolutely healthy and beautiful, as well as good sleepers. My advice is not to go overboard with the mania that pregnancy books promote, use your intuition and think like a European-- relax...

cheers!

I used to drink hot steamed milk with a vanilla, chocolate or hazelnut shot - warm and creamy without caffeine. As for chai, though, I'm not sure so I guess you'd have to ask the doctor.
Good luck!
M.

K., I found that the best info I got when I was pregnant was from the americanbaby.com website. You can sign up for a pregnancy tracker and it tracks each week of your pregnancy with what to expect as far as physical symptoms, and pics of the baby's development (not specifically yours, of course, but you can learn when the little fingers develop, etc...). It was right on target all the time, and I loved it. I found the site helpful, too, with articles on staying healthy when pregnant, labor techniques and options, what to expect in the first few weeks after bringing baby home, and how to handle uncomfortable situations/comments when you are pregnant ("Geez, lady, are you having twins?! You're HUGE!") or after when you are learning how to care for your baby ("Well, in our day, we gave babies a little brandy to help them sleep, and you turned out OK. I don't know why you just won't do it MY way..."). Worth checking out....

You know, I was a huge coffee hound both before and during my pregnancy. I spoke to my OB who is a stanford trained high risk and infertility OB, medical professor, and internationally renound author (I figured he was the best person to ask these questions too) - and he said that a cup of coffee a day while pregnant is perfectly healthy, normal, and poses absolutely NO risk to your child. The rule "no caffeine while pregnant" was initially mentioned because of some of these interesting women who seem not to be able to survive the day without a cup in their hand at all times - THAT is dangerous. In an adults body, the caffeine from one cup of caffeinated coffee will be metabolized before it even gets close to a fetus, and even then, its debated whether or not the caffeine even passes through the placenta.

SO, have your one cup of coffee, chai, or tea and just stick to decaf everything for the rest of the day. Heck, there is more caffeine that occurs naturally in the foods (yes, even organic food) that we eat every day. If you're going to go as far as limiting yourself everything that you enjoyed before pregnancy, you might as well just not go outside because of the off chance pollution might pass through the placenta or stand in the sun for too long because the UV might go through your thin tummy skin and reach the baby (See how silly that sounds? Some women go crazy with that stuff). Talk to your OB, and see what he/she says. I really like chai too, but it has plenty of caffeine in it, so if youre serious about completely going a no caff pregnancy, chai AND coffee are out.

Giving up coffee during my pregnancy was hard for me too! My OB said drinking chai tea/ chai lattes was fine so I drank it as a substitute for coffee (although I did have a small cup of decaf coffee every so often when I REALLY craved it.) My OB actually said I could have up to 2 cups of coffee if I wanted to. My pregnancy went smoothly. I am now a mother to a happy, healthy 4 month old!

This is a bit late to respond to your Question regarding drinking Chai Lattes while pregnant! With my first son Zachary, I would drink a tall size one about every other week and he was a Great Baby (too good, my second is another story, she had colic) and is now a very healthy 4 year old. The best suggestion would be to confirm it with your DR. Chai does contain Certain Herbe's which may have an effect,you can never be too safe or ask too many questions.
Congratulations on your Pregnancy and everything in moderation, and Don't let anyone or anything STRESS you out. The new life in your body is too precious to let anything or anyone bother you! Just let life Roll and Go with the Flo. Hope this helped you ~:o)

How about green tea chai? It has a little bit of caffeine, but not too much and is healthy too. It seems to be the perfect "moderate" caffeine beverage. Also, be careful of all of the sugar in chai , especially at Starbucks, Peets, etc.

Try Teeccino. It is an herbal coffee. They have a lot of different flavors and also make a chai. They have no caffine and are good for you. I think they taste better than real coffee. You can find them at most health stores or online. I think amazon has the best deal.

www.teeccino.com