A study conducted by researchers at Anhui Medical University, China, has revealed that children whose mothers consumed tea regularly throughout pregnancy demonstrated improved cognitive development and better fine and gross motor skills. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, suggest that the compounds found in tea, such as polyphenols and catechins, may play a role in enhancing brain function in infants.
Background
Tea and coffee are among the most widely consumed beverages globally, but their effects on pregnancy and fetal development have been widely debated. Both tea and coffee contain caffeine, a compound that has been linked to various pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, low birth weight, and preterm birth. Despite these potential risks, some studies have shown benefits of moderate tea consumption, particularly in terms of cognitive development.
Tea, especially green tea, contains less caffeine than coffee, though black tea has higher caffeine content than green. The amount of caffeine varies depending on the tea type, brand, brewing time, and water temperature. In addition to caffeine, tea also contains other bioactive compounds, including polyphenols and catechins, which may offer additional health benefits.
Study Design
The study involved 1,423 mother-child pairs from the Chinese National Birth Cohort (CNBC). Mothers were asked to report their tea and coffee consumption during the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy. The researchers focused on the effects of tea and coffee intake on the cognitive development of children aged 0 to 42 months.
Participants’ tea and coffee consumption was assessed based on frequency, not quantity, and various factors such as maternal age, education level, smoking, and family income were considered during statistical analysis. The study also accounted for complications like pregnancy vomiting, breastfeeding, and folic acid intake, which could influence cognitive outcomes.
Findings
Tea consumption during pregnancy was associated with higher cognitive functions and improved motor skills in infants. Specifically, maternal tea consumption during the second trimester correlated with better cognitive and fine motor development at 36 months of age. Furthermore, tea consumption during the third trimester was linked to improved cognitive and gross motor skills in infants.
Infants whose mothers drank tea throughout pregnancy exhibited the highest cognitive, fine motor, and gross motor scores compared to those whose mothers only consumed tea in one trimester. Notably, there was no significant difference between the effects of green and black tea, suggesting that tea’s cognitive benefits might not be related to caffeine content alone.
On the other hand, maternal coffee consumption did not show any significant association with cognitive outcomes in infants. Despite coffee’s higher caffeine content, it was not linked to improved cognitive or motor skills, suggesting that other compounds in tea—such as polyphenols and catechins—could be responsible for the observed benefits.
Study Significance
This study highlights the potential positive effects of tea consumption during pregnancy on infant cognitive development. The second and third trimesters, in particular, seem to play a crucial role in shaping a child’s brain development, as evidenced by the stronger benefits observed when mothers maintained a consistent tea-drinking habit throughout pregnancy.
These findings suggest that, unlike coffee, tea may provide neurodevelopmental benefits during pregnancy, which could influence cognitive outcomes in infants. However, the study’s observational nature means that it cannot definitively establish causation, and further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms.
Limitations
The study has several limitations, including its reliance on self-reported tea and coffee consumption, which could introduce recall bias. Additionally, the exact amounts of tea and coffee consumed were not measured, which may have influenced the results. The study also did not distinguish between different types of tea during later trimesters, despite the potential differences in caffeine and polyphenol content between green and black tea.
Moreover, the study was observational, meaning it only identified associations and cannot confirm direct cause-and-effect relationships. Other factors such as maternal diet, lifestyle, and socioeconomic status may also play a role in shaping infant cognitive development.
Conclusion and Future Directions
While this study suggests that maternal tea consumption during pregnancy could benefit infant cognitive development, particularly during the second and third trimesters, further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore the biological mechanisms behind the associations. Larger, controlled trials could help provide more definitive evidence regarding the role of tea and other beverages in supporting healthy neurodevelopment in children.
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