Is bitter kola safe in pregnancy?
Greetings. Now, a lot of pregnant women have this common problem of morning sickness and don’t know what to do about it. Morning sickness can be so bad that the woman wishes she was never pregnant and want to return to her pre-pregnancy state. In this article, I want to respond to a question from a pregnant woman who wishes to know if eating bitter kola can affect a baby because she has resorted to using bitter kola as remedy for her excessive salivation, nausea and vomiting in this her pregnancy when all other solutions I have failed.
The message:
Good morning sir. I am Funmi from Nigeria. Please I want to know if I can take bitter kola 2 relief this my nagging morning sickness characterized by nausea vomiting excessive salivation and feeling of unwell everyday. I am 12 weeks pregnant and I have this morning sickness that is troubling me so bad that I have had to stop work. Doctor, I have tried eating candies like Tom Tom sweet, sipping water, drinking Sprite drinks, and even white chalk for this excessive salivation but no relief. I recently found out that bitter kola can help with this morning sickness and excessive salivation and I started taking it and I must confess that it worked so well that I now have a full plate of it in my fridge at home. My worry now is that I read somewhere that bitter kola contains caffeine and cafffeine, is not good for pregnant women because of the unborn baby. I also learnt that eating bitter kola in pregnancy can cause miscarriage pregnancy loss uneven birth defects because of the caffeine contained in bitter kola. Doctor how true is this please I need to know. Thank you.
My reply:
Thank you for reaching out. It is true that bitter kola contains caffeine and because of that many pregnant women have been warned to stay away from it or at best avoid it. Now the truth is yes bitter kola contains caffeine, but no research has been able to trace eating of bitter kola by pregnant women 2 calls birth defects miscarriage uterine contractions or pregnancy loss. In fact bitter kola contains very little amount of caffeine and cannot harm your baby. Do you understand? There are many pregnant women out there that drink a bottle of Coke at least in a day. The truth is a bottle of Coke contains far higher amount of caffeine than a seed of bitter kola uncle has never been stopped in pregnancy. So by this analogy you can take bitter kola in pregnancy and your baby will be safe. You will be safe and you are going to deliver a healthy baby no need to worry.
I have even seen researches where pregnant women who took bitter kola gave birth to healthy babies though it was done in a small population.
If it is bitter that give you that symptomatic relief from morning sickness and excessive salivation, please eat it but with moderation.
This my YouTube video will help explain better for you understanding.
You can eat bitter kola in any trimester. First, second and third trimester.
Bye.
Dr Udomoh
