What To Drink While Pregnant: Staying Hydrated During Pregnancy
January 29, 2024
One of the most important things you can do for a healthy pregnancy is stay hydrated! Water plays essential functions in your body, including circulating nutrients from your food around your body and to your baby, assisting in the production of blood, aiding in digestion, and forming part of amniotic fluid (the protective liquid that surrounds your growing baby).
Staying hydrated isn’t just about drinking water, it’s about eating the right foods, too! This guide gives you a full list of all the hydrating foods and liquids you can add to your diet to fight constipation, increase maternal blood volume, and keep you hydrated!
A peek inside:
- The most hydrating fruits: citrus, melons, berries
- The best veggies and leafy greens for pregnancy hydration
- Pregnancy-safe herbal teas
- Plus a list of liquids to sip on all day long
But, how much water is considered enough? What happens if you’re dehydrated while pregnant? And, what else can you drink besides water during pregnancy? Let’s explore these questions and more!
How Much Water Should I Drink While Pregnant?
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, pregnant women should drink eight to 12 cups (64 to 96 ounces) of water every day to stay well hydrated.
To help you reach this goal, get a fun water bottle to carry around with you at home and at work.
You’ll lose even more water through sweat while exercising, so ensure you have enough water breaks during workouts, too.
During the first trimester, you may struggle with staying hydrated due to morning sickness. At this time, take small sips of water as well as ginger tea.
From how many meals to eat to which foods to skip, this guide’s got proven tips, helpful recommendations, and mama-approved suggestions to help ease your nausea when “morning sickness” strikes.
A peek inside:
- The best way to start your day off to avoid nausea
- Recommendations for ways to split up your meals
- Tricks for staying hydrated
- Foods to skip and ingredients to indulge in to fight off nausea
- Mama-approved suggestions that help with morning sickness and make life easier
What Happens If You Don’t Drink Enough Water While Pregnant?
Not drinking enough water can lead to dehydration. Dark-colored urine, feeling dizzy, fatigue, and confusion are all signs that you could be dehydrated.
Dehydration can have negative effects on you and your growing baby.
As water forms part of the amniotic fluid, not drinking enough can impact the levels of this liquid. Your baby needs to be surrounded by an adequate amount of amniotic fluid as it protects them from infection, regulates temperature, and helps develop your baby’s respiratory and digestive systems.
WebMD also lists kidney stones, swelling, birth defects, and urinary tract infections as further complications of dehydration during pregnancy.Drinks To Avoid During Pregnancy
Alcohol
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to developmental disorders in babies. It’s best to avoid all alcoholic beverages completely.Coffee
While you don’t need to completely cut caffeine out of your pregnancy diet, it’s important to reduce your intake as coffee is a diuretic that can have a negative impact on your hydration levels.
The American Pregnancy Association advises pregnant women to limit their caffeine intake to less than 200 mg per day, which is a 12-ounce cup of coffee.
Soda
Remember, soda has caffeine, too! This is one reason to avoid fizzy drinks. The two other reasons to limit your intake of soda are the contents of sugar and chemicals. Healthline explains, “They’re pretty much all chemicals and calories, with no nutritional value. So, they can make you feel full, while providing no benefits to you or your growing baby. Sugary drinks, including soda, should also be avoided if you have gestational diabetes or may have a higher risk of developing it.”
Gestational Diabetes Meal Plan, Diet, and Recipes
What to Eat When You Have Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy
Get the GuideIf you’re experiencing elevated blood sugar during your pregnancy, we’ve got you covered. From what gestational diabetes is to recommendations for foods to eat and avoid, this in-depth guide covers everything you need to know for handling gestational diabetes and keeping you and your baby as healthy as can be.
A peek inside:
- The most common questions about gestational diabetes—asked and answered
- Why gestational diabetes occurs
- How many meals a day you should be eating
- The best ways to balance starches and a list of non-starchy vegetables
- The best fats and proteins that we recommend for a gestational diabetes diet
- Ways to limit your carb intake (and why you should!)
- Examples of low carb-friendly snacks
Unpasteurized Milk
Milk is a fantastic source of calcium – an essential mineral for your own bone health as well as the development of your baby’s skeleton. However, only include pasteurized milk in your pregnancy diet. Raw milk can contain Listeria monocytogenes or other harmful pathogens.What Can I Drink While Pregnant Besides Water?
Water isn’t the only safe substance to drink. Try these drink recipes:
If You Like Piña Coladas
Missing happy hour? Create your own with this mocktail!
This virgin Piña Colada-inspired drink calls for pineapple, a healthy fruit for pregnancy due to its anti-inflammatory properties and vitamin C content, plus it’s hydrating!
You’ll also add phosphorus-rich coconut cream and coconut water. This mineral plays a vital role in your baby’s brain development.
Get the full recipe here.
No More Nausea Tea
All teas are hydrating, so replace your coffee and soda with pregnancy-safe herbal teas like this one.
This herbal blend is perfect for the first trimester as it helps reduce nausea and vomiting thanks to ginger root.
Red raspberry leaf is also included in this tea, an ingredient rich in iron to help with blood production and reduce the risk of anemia.
Get the full recipe here.
Snooze-Inducing Sleepy Tea
Pregnancy insomnia is common, affecting more than 70% of expecting women. Difficulty falling asleep can be attributed to nausea, hormonal changes, as well as leg and back pain.
This tea includes chamomile to help with sleeplessness, rose hips for an extra dose of vitamin C, and lemon balm to relieve irritability.
Get the full recipe here.
Constipation 911 Tea
Another uncomfortable symptom of pregnancy is constipation. This is caused by hormone fluctuations and the fetus putting pressure on your bowel.
Staying hydrated is one of the best ways to treat constipation, as water aids in digestion.
How to Relieve Constipation During Pregnancy
Dietary Remedies for Pregnancy Constipation Relief
Get the GuideConstipation can be a real pain in the butt. But luckily for you, we’ve got a whole resource that can help provide constipation relief during pregnancy. Download this guide to find out which foods will help get things moving along!
A peek inside:
- Which foods are best to avoid if you’re experiencing constipation
- Recommendations for activities to try and ingredients to buy
- A list of foods rich in magnesium (a mineral that helps relieve constipation!)
- The importance of staying hydrated
This herbal blend includes senna leaf to stimulate bowel movements and spearmint to improve digestion.
Get the full recipe here.
A Berry Awesome Power-Boosting Smoothie
A fantastic way to boost your hydration is through smoothies!
Fruits – including bananas, blueberries, and pineapples which this recipe calls for – are high in fiber for healthy digestion. Blueberries are a form of nutrient-dense complex carbohydrates, which give your body much-needed energy.
The Best Energy-Boosting Foods to Eat During Pregnancy
A List of Nutrient-Rich Foods for Expecting Moms
Get the GuideIt’s not uncommon to feel exhausted or sleep-deprived during your pregnancy and postpartum period (also known as the fourth trimester). So, if you’re ready to add some energy-boosting ingredients to your daily meals, you’ll find this guide has exactly what you’ve been craving.
A peek inside:
- Energy-boosting fruits
- Vivacious vegetables
- Packed proteins: meat, seafood, dairy
- Supercharged seeds and nuts
- Life-giving leafy greens, legumes, and grains
- A few tips for other ways to naturally boost your energy that don’t include caffeine
You’ll also add Swiss chard to this smoothie for magnesium to prevent leg cramps and regulate blood sugar.
Get the full recipe here.
It’s not just what you eat that matters, Mama, but also what you drink! You don’t have to stick to plain water during pregnancy – include pregnancy safe herbal teas, mocktails, and fruit-packed smoothies for delicious ways to refresh and quench your thirst!
