Hi! I recently went on holidays to Fiji about 1 and a bit months ago and became pregnant while I was there. I drank about 1L of kava in a day without knowing I just got pregnant. Can this harm my baby or cause a miscarriage?
I’ve read having it during pregnancy is not recommended and can be harmful to the child in regular doses, I’m wondering if my one time is harmful enough?
Thanks
Congratulations!
There's been practically no research on the impact of kava on pregnancy/baby. We do know kava's active ingredients can pass to fetus, but whether or not this has any kind of impact (positive or negative) on its development or well-being is unknown.
However, I personally think you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It is extremely unlikely that any harm was done to your baby. For a start, kava is a fairly benign substance (think coffee, green tea etc in terms of safety profile). It is without any doubt much more benign than alcohol and likely more healthy than the food they served on your flight..
Second, 1L of kava made Fijian style isn't a huge amount. Fijians like to mix their kava with plenty of water, so I suppose this would probably be the equivalent of one shell in Vanuatu. So, while "1 litre" might sound like a lot, unless your kava was so strong that you couldn't walk/stand up and was seeing double every day, you probably didn't actually consume that much "kava" in terms of active ingredients. Besides, correct me if I am wrong, but did you just have that 1L of kava once or every single day? In either case, I wouldn't worry, but if the former, then I wouldn't even wonder about it
Furthermore, many women in the Pacific do drink kava while pregnant. Many people don't think it's a great idea (but it's not clear whether it's because they are women or because they are pregnant), but I've never heard anyone say that kava can cause miscarriage or any developmental problems. I think according to some urban legends, babies born to mothers who consumed large amounts of kava for 9 months of their pregnancy can have drier skin and be calmer or lazy.
In sum, it's probably not a great idea to consume large amounts of kava throughout pregnancy (just like it's not a great idea to consume large amounts of coffee), but I wouldn't worry at all about that one kava adventure you had in Fiji. If anything, you can have a cool story for your little one and tell them they may have some special connection with kava, cuz a bit of it was with him/her even before they were born
Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.
Ps. This tune (apparently according to researchers it is the most relaxing music ever created) helped my wife relax during her pregnancy and the birth of our son (and yes, she also had some kava while she was pregnant without knowing about it):
