After limiting caffeine throughout pregnancy, you may be wondering whether a cup of tea can affect your baby now that you are a breastfeeding mother. Fortunately, the caffeine in tea usually doesn't affect breastfeeding when consumed in small doses, up to a few cups a day.
Tea Caffeine
Black tea has more caffeine than other varieties, about 40 to 100 mg of caffeine per 8-oz. serving. Green tea has only 30 to 50 mg per serving, and a serving of decaffeinated tea contains about 2 mg. Bottled iced teas often have between 10 and 50 mg per 12- to 16-oz. bottle. You can significantly reduce the amount of caffeine by steeping the tea for 45 seconds and discarding the water before brewing it to drink.
Caffeine and Breastfeeding
Caffeine doesn't transfer completely into the mother's milk. Only .06 to 1.5 percent of the caffeine ingested by the mother makes it into the breast milk and therefore into the baby, according to Kellymom. The levels of caffeine peak in breast milk about one hour after the mother drinks tea or another caffeine-containing beverage. A newborn baby can clear caffeine out of his system in 65 to 30 hours. By the time he is 4 months old, the time it takes for his body to clear out caffeine drops to about three to seven hours, the same as an adult.
Effects on Baby
Most babies can tolerate the small amount of caffeine that gets into breast milk as long as the mother keeps her consumption within reasonable limits. Caffeine ingestion below 300 to 750 mg per day seems to have no noticeable effect on most infants. A mother who drinks more than 750 mg of caffeine per day may notice indications of caffeine stimulation, including restlessness, irritability or difficulty falling asleep. To consume 750 mg of caffeine from tea would require at least 7.5 cups of black tea or 30 cups of green tea per day.
Sensitive Babies
Some babies are more sensitive to caffeine than others. So if your baby is acting irritable or unhappy after you drink a few cups of tea, you may want to try eliminating it from your diet for a few weeks. It may take up to a week after you stop drinking tea for your baby to stop exhibiting fussiness if she truly is reacting to caffeine in your diet. Remember, too, that other caffeine sources in your diet, such as coffee, soda and chocolate, can add to your daily total and may push your intake to a level that your baby can't tolerate.
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