Green Tea
Green tea is safe during pregnancy in moderation. It contains less caffeine than black tea or coffee, but should still be counted toward your daily 200mg caffeine limit.
Green tea is generally lower in caffeine than black tea and considerably lower than coffee, with a typical cup containing somewhere around 25–45mg, compared to roughly 40–75mg for black tea and up to 140mg or more for a cup of brewed coffee. It's a perfectly reasonable drink during pregnancy in normal quantities, and its lower caffeine content makes it a popular swap for women trying to reduce their overall intake without giving up warm drinks entirely. The one area worth being aware of is green tea extract in concentrated supplement form — high-dose green tea extract supplements have been associated with liver effects in some studies and are generally advised against during pregnancy, which is a different consideration from simply drinking brewed green tea as a beverage. As with other caffeinated drinks, the overall daily total across tea, coffee, and other sources is what matters, capped at 200mg per day.
What to be aware of
- Factor green tea into your total daily caffeine count, alongside coffee, black tea, and other caffeinated drinks — aim for no more than 200mg per day in total.
- A typical cup of green tea contains roughly 25–45mg of caffeine, though this varies by brand and brewing strength.
- Avoid concentrated green tea extract supplements, which are a different, more concentrated product from brewed tea.
- Decaffeinated green tea is available and removes the caffeine consideration almost entirely.
- Matcha, a concentrated powdered green tea, contains more caffeine per serving than standard brewed green tea — factor this in if you drink it regularly.
NHS guidance: https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/foods-to-avoid/
US guidance
US guidance from ACOG follows the same overall 200mg daily caffeine limit and treats green tea the same way as the UK — safe in moderation, counted toward the total daily allowance, with concentrated extract supplements specifically flagged as a separate consideration.