Most health authorities advise limiting caffeine during pregnancy, and energy drinks are usually singled out because a single can can carry a large share of the daily limit. This page summarizes publicly available guidance. It is not medical advice, and anything about your own pregnancy is a conversation for your doctor or midwife.
What the General Guidance Says About Caffeine
Major health bodies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the NHS, advise keeping caffeine intake low during pregnancy, commonly cited as under 200mg per day. Some guidance is more conservative than that.
That figure is a total across everything: coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, and energy drinks combined. Many people are surprised how quickly it adds up.
Why Energy Drinks Get Named Specifically
Three reasons show up consistently in health guidance:
Caffeine per can can be high. Some energy drinks contain more caffeine than a large coffee, and the amount isn’t always clearly labeled.
Hidden caffeine sources. Guarana, green tea extract, and yerba mate all contain caffeine but don’t use the word on the front of the can.
Additional active ingredients. Many energy drinks include ingredients beyond caffeine that have not been studied in pregnancy. Guidance often advises avoiding them for that reason alone, absence of evidence rather than evidence of harm.
Reading a Label During Pregnancy
If you’re checking a can, the useful things to look for are the total caffeine in milligrams, any of the hidden caffeine sources listed above, and the full ingredient list.
If a product doesn’t state a caffeine figure at all, you genuinely don’t know what you’re consuming, which is a reasonable basis for setting it aside.
What People Ask Their Doctors About Instead
Common non-caffeine approaches to pregnancy fatigue that come up in general guidance include hydration, iron levels (worth testing rather than guessing), sleep timing, and light movement. All of these are individual, and all of them are your doctor’s call rather than an article’s.
A Note on MetL
We make a caffeine-free drink, and we’re deliberately not going to tell you it’s suitable during pregnancy. We don’t have the clinical evidence to make that claim, and a brand telling a pregnant person what’s safe to consume is not a claim we’re willing to make. If you’re pregnant and wondering about any drink, including ours, take the ingredient list to your doctor or midwife and ask them.
FAQ
Can you drink energy drinks while pregnant?
General health guidance advises against or strongly limits them, primarily due to caffeine content and ingredients that haven’t been studied in pregnancy. Ask your doctor about your specific situation.
How much caffeine is considered acceptable during pregnancy?
Commonly cited guidance is under 200mg per day from all sources combined, though some guidance is more conservative. Your provider can advise for your circumstances.
Are caffeine-free energy drinks safe during pregnancy?
Removing caffeine removes one specific concern, but other ingredients may still not have been studied in pregnancy. This is a question for your doctor with the actual label in hand.
What about decaf?
Decaffeinated products usually retain a small amount of caffeine rather than none. Worth factoring into a daily total.
