Top 16 Drinks For Pregnancy (and What You Should Avoid)

Pregnancy is such a wonderful and exciting time! After getting a positive test you soon find that in pregnancy, there are a lot of dos and don’ts. You suddenly can’t eat foods like sushi or deli meat, can’t take hot baths, and all of a sudden have a new person growing inside of your body. It’s a lot and can be overwhelming at times. We’re here to help demystify the best drink choices for pregnancy.

When you’re pregnant, you know alcohol should be avoided. So should excess caffeine and raw milk. But what about other conventional products like Gatorade? Or non-alcoholic wine? Are these safe? Staying hydrated and putting the right things in your body is critical for your baby’s development and drinking the right things helps make you feel nourished as well.

This is a topic I wanted to dig into more because as someone who got intense leg cramps when pregnant, Gatorade was suggested to me, but upon further research, there are much better, more nourishing options for pregnant women and their babies.

Wondering what the best and worst drinks are for pregnant women? Read ahead to find out:

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Top 16 Drinks For Pregnancy (and What You Should Avoid)

Water

Make water your go-to drink during pregnancy. Plain water is essential for the body’s processes. It’s generally recommend to consume eight to 10 glasses of water per day. Pick yourself a water bottle you like to carry around and focus on sipping it throughout the day. It’s a good way to measure your daily fluid intake and avoid severe dehydration.

Water is typically the best choice drink. And if you have gestational diabetes, drinking water can help manage your glucose levels as well. Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout your pregnancy – whether in the first trimester, second trimester or third trimester, it’s all equally important!

Signs of dehydration in pregnancy include dry mouth, headache, thirstiness, constipation, dizziness, and sleepiness.

16 drinks for pregnancy (and what to avoid)

Naturally Flavored Water (with lemon or lime)

Adding a flavor to your water helps you upsurge your water intake. Not only is citrus great for you, but it also makes the drink more appealing. Warm lemon water first thing in the morning is also great for digestion!

Drinking flavored water with your prenatal vitamin can also help it go down more easily, especially if you’re prone to “pill burps” or dislike the aftertaste of your vitamins.

Decaf or Half-Caf Coffee

High caffeine consumption in pregnancy has been shown to have negative effects. However, owing to the reduced amount of caffeine in decaf coffee, it’s a safer alternative if you’re ready for a second cup.

You could split your caffeine between two half-caf cups per day or do one regular cup and one decaf cup to satisfy the coffee craving.

Organic Herbal Tea

Certain herbal teas can be enjoyed during pregnancy and even alleviate symptoms of morning sickness. For example, rooibos tea doesn’t have any caffeine and is rich in antioxidants. Peppermint tea can help you avoid nausea and be calming after a long day. Other teas like decaf green tea can be an option as well.

I suggest picking organic tea brands because they are less likely to contain toxic chemicals and pesticides linked to cancer. Numi Tea is my choice, particularly because of their transparency and traceability. The best way to make sure the tea you’re consuming is ideal is to check the traceability of their ingredients.

Coconut Water

Coconut water works like a sports drink or electrolyte drinks for restoring balance to the body. It’s a great alternative to sugar- and dye-laden sports drinks that can cause the second-hand sugar effect. Needless to say, a lot of sugar should be avoided when pregnant.

Coconut water can help with things like energy levels and leg cramps in pregnancy as it helps to rebalance your essential nutrients.

Coconut water is a better choice than Gatorade or other sports drinks because it works the same way but without the added sugar and artificial dyes.

Bone Broth

Drinking bone broth is a wonderful way to get additional nutrients and fluids during pregnancy. Bone broth is lush in minerals, vitamins, and glycine. Glycine is significant for forming fetal DNA and your baby’s bones, organs, and skin. Sipping on small amounts of bone broth can also help settle the stomach.

Smoothies

Amalgamated fruits and veggies are a delightful way to meet your everyday needs and get some additional hydration all at once.

You can pack smoothies full of healthy fats like coconut milk, avocado, and nut butters along side greens like kale or spinach. You can put in any fruit or veggies your heart desires! You can even add things like camu camu for a dose of vitamin c.

Pasteurized Fruit Juice

Pasteurized juice can be located in department stores’ chilled or frozen juice units. And it is consider safe for pregnancy. Unpasteurized juice has been linked to foodborne illness like listeriosis and toxoplasmosis, which can be extremely dangerous for a pregnant woman and her baby. You could consider making fresh orange juice at home too as long as you consume it right away.

Alcohol-Free Wine or Beer

Alcohol-free wine is a non-alcoholic substitute for individuals sidestepping alcohol for one reason or another. Nevertheless, no quantity of alcohol has been established as harmless for drinking when pregnant.

Sparkling Water

Sparkling water or carbonated water is fine within bounds when pregnant. And an excellent substitute for syrupy soft drinks. You’ll want to sidestep fizzy drinks with additional caffeine or artificial sweeteners, frequently seen in diet soda. The brand Spindrift is flavored with real fruit juice, not natural or artificial flavors, making it the top choice.

You can also dress up your own sparkling water with fruit-juice ice cubes (simply freeze fruit juice in ice cube trays) or add berries to your sparkling water for an extra touch of antioxidants.

Milk

Milk is a great choice during pregnancy as it is full of calcium, vitamin B12, and proteins, which aid in the baby’s development. Just make sure the milk you drink during pregnancy is pasteurized to avoid consuming bacteria like E.Coli.

Milk that is pasteurized is heated to a very high temperature and then cooled immediately. This helps kill off unwanted bacteria that is lingering in the milk. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates packaged milk and dairy products in the United States. As long as you double check the label in the store, the milk is likely pasteurized. However if you are shopping locally or at small convenience stores, these places might also stock raw milk, so be sure to double check the label!

Kefir

Kefir is a fermented drink that can be prepared with any milk supply, counting coconut, goat, cow, and so on. It can likewise be made with water. It includes as numerous as 30 helpful bacteria that can help lift your immune system! In addition, it improves gastrointestinal health and helps with the superior absorption of vital nutrients. Kefir is a decent source of folate, b vitamins, and vitamin k2.

Re-Lyte from Redmond Life

Re-Lyte from Redmond Life electrolyte mix contains trace minerals and is naturally flavored and is a great choice for an oral rehydration solution. The impeccable balance of electrolytes refreshes the body quicker than water single-handedly. It is formulated alongside experts to have a 2:1 sodium:potassium ratio along with other crucial electrolytes for cell performance without the excess sugar.

It’s a great option too to recover from physical activity! Talk to your health care provider if you have any concerns about your workout routine while pregnant.

Pasteurized Vegetable Juice

Pasteurized vegetable juice (or freshly made at home as long as you consume it ASAP) are good options too. Beet juice has been shown to help reduce high blood pressure (but of course talk to your doctor about this if you have any concerns).

Ginger Tea

Ginger tea can be a great option to help alleviate nausea and queasiness. And it might be an operative therapy for morning sickness related to pregnancy. In addition, ginger has been revealed to help mitigate pain from uterine cramps, which could be helpful as your body prepares for labor.

If you’re feeling particularly unwell, ginger ale could be an okay option in a pinch but ginger tea in sparkling water can also do the trick and is healthier for you, especially if you have hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness).

Mocktails

Mocktails are fantastic for pregnant moms who want to enjoy an evening without alcohol. Most drinks that typically include alcohol can be made without or with sparkling water in its place.

What Drinks To Avoid In Pregnancy

As many wonderful beverages there are to drink in pregnancy, there are some to avoid, too.

Soda and Diet Soda

Soda is overloaded with sugar and purposeless calories. And some proof implies that diet sodas could upturn your baby’s chances of struggling with increased body composition in future years. Artificial sweeteners are best avoided along with excess sugar intake (more than 100 sugar calories per day).

Excess Caffeine

Caffeine is taken up very rapidly and passages effortlessly into the placenta. High caffeine intake during pregnancy has been revealed to limited fetal development and surge the danger of low birth weight at birth.

Artificial Sweeteners and Dyes (like in Gatorade)

You might be wondering, is Gatorade safe for pregnancy? While advertised as idyllic for rehydration, drinks like Gatorade and Powerade are jam-packed with sugar and artificial constituents.

There are better options available to increasing hydration, electrolytes, and improving leg cramps. Drink coconut water or Re-Lyte from Redmond Life over Gatorade or a similar product.

Energy Drinks

Numerous energy drinks comprehend extraordinary levels of caffeine, sugar, ginseng, and other stimulants which can create dangers for your developing baby.

Alcohol

Alcohol during pregnancy is a big no. It can lead to delayed development, fetal-alcohol syndrome, abnormal facial features, and more. This is a heavily studied area and research shows that no amount of alcohol in pregnancy is safe. It’s best to avoid alcoholic beverages and the resulting serious complications.

Kombucha

It’s a good idea to sidestep kombucha during pregnancy and breastfeeding because of its slight alcohol, caffeine content, and absence of pasteurization.

Wheatgrass Shots

As it is utilized raw straight from the soil, there is likewise a danger of microbial infection due to microorganisms in wheatgrass.

Untested Tap Water

Water is undoubted the most refreshing drink on the earth, but your water intake must be safe. For example, untested tap water might contain heavy metals like lead, aluminum, arsenic, copper, iron, lead, pesticides, herbicides, uranium, and more. It’s best to drink filtered water if possible.

In Summary

There are a lot of great and beneficial liquids to consume in pregnancy. Primarily, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and potentially contaminated liquids should be avoided for a healthy pregnancy. Congratulations on your new journey!