The best and worst drinks for pregnancy

Here’s the scoop on what’s okay to drink, and what you need to steer clear of – plus some fun, bump-friendly cocktail recipes.

Best drinks during pregnancy

Water

It might seem obvious, but you need to drink a lot of water during pregnancy to stay hydrated. Not only is water good for your body – it reduces swelling and the risk of UTIs, as well as keeps your bowel movements regular – but it’s also good for your baby, increasing the blood flow that give your baby the oxygen and nutrients they need.

Generally, you can aim for about 10 8-ounce glasses of water per day. But since this amount is dependent on so many things (like your weight, activity level, and even the weather!), check with your healthcare provider if you’re not sure exactly how much water you need.

And yes: Tap water is totally safe to drink during pregnancy. In fact, as long as it’s clean, tap water is even safer than bottled water, since there are fewer plastic contaminants.

Milk

Milk is another recommended beverage during pregnancy, thanks to how much protein, calcium, and vitamin D it has. Several studies have shownOpens a new window that expectant mothers who drink a moderate amount of milk each day tend to give birth to babies with healthier weights and lengths – in other words, drinking milk during pregnancy can help your baby grow.

So how much is a moderate amount of milk during pregnancy? Somewhere between one to two cups per day seems to be the sweet spot, allowing you to reap the benefits of dairy without overdoing it.

Cow’s milk has the most beneficial nutrients for pregnancy, but if you can’t or don’t want to drink dairy milk, there are benefits to be found in other types, too. Soy milk has the closest nutritional profile to dairy milk. Rice and oat milk have less protein than cow’s milk, but they’re often fortified with added nutrients like vitamins C and D.

Seltzer

If you’re trying to cut back on your sugar consumption during pregnancy but still crave carbonation, sugar-free or low-sugar seltzers can give you the bubbly fix you’re looking for in a much healthier way.

Considering that the average can of soda has between 7 and 10 teaspoons of sugar (almost as much as the recommended amount for an entire day!), a lightly flavored seltzer is a pregnancy-friendly swap.

That said, seltzer isn’t as healthy as plain water: Carbonated beverages can cause bloating, gas, and burping when consumed excessively, and you’ll still need to be mindful of the nutrition labels. Some seltzers have a ton of sodium, and some have artificial sweeteners like aspartame, which is considered safe during pregnancy in small amounts but are best avoided in larger quantities.

Smoothies and shakes

A smoothie or shake can be a great way to pack a bunch of nutrients into a yummy, drinkable serving size, making it easy to load up on protein, fruits, and veggies. You need a lot of extra protein during pregnancy, and eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables will ensure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals you need, too, like vitamins A and C, folate, and iron.

One caveat: It’s best to make your own smoothies and shakes at home, with fresh ingredients, rather than buying premade beverages. While it’s technically safe to drink a prepackaged smoothie, they could have a ton of added sugar and caffeine, so always read the label before you drink anything.

The same goes for protein shakes. Protein powders aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so there’s no way to be sure exactly what ingredients are in them and whether they’re safe for pregnancy.

Tea

A hot cup of tea is not only comforting when you’re achy and tired from growing a tiny human, certain types of tea can help soothe some common pregnancy symptoms. Ginger tea, for example, can relieve nausea, and peppermint tea can have a soothing, stress-relieving effect.

But since herbal tea isn’t regulated by the FDA, it’s hard to know for sure what you’re drinking and if it’s safe during pregnancy. Manufacturers might neglect to include one or more ingredients on the label, or may claim there’s more or less of a certain ingredient than there really is. That’s why it’s important to check with your healthcare provider before drinking herbal tea.

Plus, some teas (like black and green) have a lot of caffeine, which is best avoided during pregnancy.

These teas are generally considered safe to drink during pregnancy:

• Ginger tea
• Peppermint tea
• White tea
• Black tea (in moderation)
• Green tea (in moderation)

Pregnancy-friendly cocktail recipes

Alcohol isn’t safe to drink during pregnancy (more on that below). But that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate or wind down with a fun little drink!

Try one of these non-alcoholic cocktails:

Drinks to avoid during pregnancy

Alcohol

Some experts say even the tiniest bit of alcohol should be avoided during pregnancy, while others say it’s okay to have a little bit here and there. But the bottom line is that no amount of alcohol has been shown to be safe during pregnancy – that means the recommendation is to avoid it entirely.

If that seems overly restrictive to you, we understand! But alcohol is one of the few things you can eat or drink that crosses your placental barrier, so it can actually reach your baby and have negative effects on your developing little one.

Research has shownOpens a new window that heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), as well as miscarriage, preterm labor, and low birth weight.

But mild to moderate alcohol consumption can also increase your risk for these complications, too. In fact, sometimes these effects may not be immediately apparent at birth, only showing up several years later among children whose mothers consumed low amounts of alcohol during pregnancy.

Caffeinated beverages

Bad news first: You do have to limit your caffeine during pregnancy, because – like alcohol – caffeine crosses the placenta. The good news? You can still have a daily cup of coffee while pregnant, or 200 milligrams of caffeine, to be specific.

It’s best to avoid regularly drinking more than 200 milligrams of caffeine daily. More than that can cause fetal growth restrictions by reducing blood flow to the uterus and placenta.

Too much caffeine during pregnancy can have negative effects on you, too, such as raising your heart rate and blood pressure, causing heartburn, making you feel more anxious, and interfering with your ability to absorb iron.

It’s also important to remember that coffee isn’t the only food or drink that contains caffeine. If you drink green tea or certain types of sodas (or even eat a lot of chocolate!), you’ll be consuming caffeine. Be sure to consider those other sources of caffeine and factor them into your total amount per day.

Soda

It’s okay to have a little bit of soda once in a while, but drinking soda on a regular basis can have negative effects for you and your baby. Soda has a ton of sugar, and on top of all the other drawbacks of sugar, research has found that drinking sugary beverages during pregnancy may increase your child’s risk of developing asthma when they’re older.

What’s more, many types of sodas have 30 milligrams or more of caffeine. By itself, that’s a safe amount, but if you drink more than one soda at a time or drink other caffeinated beverages, you could accidentally end up drinking more than the recommended 200 milligrams per day.

Lastly, diet and sugar-free sodas might have less sugar, but that doesn’t make them healthier: These alternatives are usually flavored with artificial sweeteners, and in larger quantities, these types of drinks can lead to a higher risk of preterm delivery.

Tea

There are several types of tea that are generally safe to drink during pregnancy and might even be beneficial when it comes to relieving certain pregnancy symptoms like nausea and insomnia.

But for every type of tea that’s safe to drink in moderation, there’s one that has been shown to have potentially harmful effects during pregnancy or should be used with caution, like red raspberry leaf tea, which can cause uterine contractions and induce labor.

While this isn’t a complete list, here are some herbs that are best avoided during pregnancy because they can induce labor contractions:

• Black cohosh
• Feverfew
• Fenugreek
• Passion flower
• Some types of chamomile

If you’re unsure about the safety of an herbal tea during pregnancy, check with your healthcare provider first.

Unpasteurized juice or milk

Pasteurization is a food preservation process that uses heat to kill potentially dangerous germs. It’s used in the manufacturing of certain beverages, like dairy milk and juice, in order to make them safe to drink.

While otherwise healthy people may choose to drink unpasteurized milk and juice, these beverages aren’t recommended for pregnant women; not only are you more likely to contract a foodborne illness during pregnancy, some of these illnesses can have extremely serious effects on your baby.

There are several types of bacteria that may be found in unpasteurized drinks, including E. coli, salmonella, and toxoplasma, but the most well-known bacteria is probably listeria. During pregnancy, it can have life-threatening effects on both a mother and her baby. In early trimesters, listeria can become severe enough to cause miscarriage; in later trimesters, it may lead to preterm delivery, low birth weight, or stillbirth.

It would be difficult to accidentally drink unpasteurized milk – the vast majority of milk sold in grocery stores is pasteurized, and any milk that isn’t should be clearly labeled as “raw” or unpasteurized.

Unpasteurized juice has become more popular in recent years and is more widely sold, but even still, most juice sold commercially is pasteurized; just be sure to steer clear of juice that’s labeled as “raw” or “cold-pressed.”