Can you drink mushroom coffee while pregnant?
A dietitian's take on mushroom coffee in pregnancy — which varieties are OK, which aren't studied, and why the caffeine content matters more than the mushrooms.
When a pregnant client asks me whether they can drink mushroom coffee, there are really two questions tangled together: one about caffeine, and one about the mushrooms. These questions have very different answers, and conflating them is where most of the online advice goes wrong.
Let me pull them apart.
The short answer
If the product contains coffee: the caffeine fits the same rules as regular coffee — keep total daily caffeine under ACOG’s recommended 200mg/day ceiling. Most commercial mushroom coffees have 30–70mg per cup, which gives you room for 2–3 cups if they’re your only caffeine source.
If the product contains medicinal mushroom extracts (lion’s mane, reishi, cordyceps, chaga): there is not enough pregnancy-specific safety research on these extracts to confidently say they’re safe at typical serving sizes. Most obstetricians recommend pausing them during pregnancy. This is a “we don’t know” answer, not a “we know they’re dangerous” answer — but in pregnancy, “we don’t know” is usually treated as a reason for caution.
The practical combined answer: most mushroom coffees are best paused during pregnancy, and the cleanest alternative is a caffeine-free herbal coffee (chicory, carob, grain blends) with no functional mushroom extracts. See is chicory coffee safe during pregnancy for that option.
The two questions you’re actually asking
Let me restate them clearly:
- Is the caffeine content in mushroom coffee OK for pregnancy?
- Are the medicinal mushroom ingredients OK for pregnancy?
The first has a confident, evidence-based answer. The second does not. The difference matters, because the first is a numbers question (dose) and the second is a data-gap question (nobody studied it).
The caffeine issue
ACOG’s current recommendation is to limit daily caffeine intake during pregnancy to under 200mg/day, based on observational data linking higher intakes to increased miscarriage and low birth weight risk. The evidence for 200mg as a specific threshold is imperfect but directionally solid.
Most commercial mushroom coffees are coffee-plus-mushrooms products. A typical serving breakdown:
| Product | Caffeine per cup |
|---|---|
| Regular drip coffee | 95 mg |
| Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee (with Lion’s Mane) | ~50 mg |
| Ryze Mushroom Coffee | ~48 mg |
| MUD\WTR Rise | ~35 mg |
| Caffeine-free mushroom elixirs | 0 mg |
If your mushroom coffee is your only caffeinated drink of the day, 1–2 cups easily fits the 200mg ceiling. If you’re also drinking tea, cola, or dark chocolate, add those in.
The caffeine piece is straightforward. It’s the mushrooms that complicate things.
The mushrooms themselves
The medicinal mushrooms commonly found in mushroom coffees — lion’s mane, reishi, cordyceps, chaga, maitake — have long histories of use in traditional Chinese medicine and have been increasingly studied in modern research. But pregnancy-specific safety data is almost nonexistent for any of them.
Here is what we actually know, mushroom by mushroom:
Lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus)
Studied primarily for cognition and nerve growth factor effects. Generally considered safe at food-level doses in healthy adults; clinical trials have not flagged major adverse effects. No pregnancy RCTs. Of the common medicinal mushrooms, this is the one with the least flagged concern, but that doesn’t mean “safe” — it means “understudied in pregnancy.”
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
Has mild anticoagulant (blood-thinning) effects in some studies. This is the primary reason reishi is often cautioned against in pregnancy, late-term especially, and before any surgery. Dose and duration matter — a small serving in a mushroom coffee blend is very different from concentrated extract supplements. Still, in pregnancy most clinicians recommend skipping it.
Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris / sinensis)
Some animal studies suggest hormonal effects (testosterone, LH modulation). These are at high doses and in non-pregnant models, but the endocrine signal is enough that most clinicians recommend pausing in pregnancy.
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
Contains oxalates and has anticoagulant-adjacent properties. Similar caution profile to reishi. Not well-studied in pregnancy.
Maitake, turkey tail, etc.
Even less data. Traditional use in some cuisines (maitake is a common culinary mushroom in Japan), but pharmacological concentrates haven’t been studied in pregnant populations.
The honest synthesis: the evidence base on medicinal mushrooms in pregnancy is “inadequate to recommend.” That’s different from “dangerous.” But “inadequate to recommend” is the bar most OBs and dietitians use when discussing supplements during pregnancy.
Brand-by-brand considerations
If you’re considering a specific product, check two things: what mushrooms it contains, and the serving dose of each.
- Four Sigmatic — blends vary. The basic “Mushroom Coffee” includes lion’s mane and chaga. Caffeine ~50mg. The chaga concern applies.
- Ryze — a six-mushroom blend (lion’s mane, cordyceps, reishi, shiitake, turkey tail, king trumpet). Caffeine ~48mg. The reishi and cordyceps both have pregnancy cautions.
- MUD\WTR Rise — includes chaga, reishi, lion’s mane, cordyceps. Caffeine ~35mg. Multiple flagged mushrooms.
- Brand X caffeine-free “mushroom elixir” — removes the caffeine issue but not the mushroom issue.
Patterns emerge: most mushroom-coffee brands use multi-mushroom blends including several of the pregnancy-cautioned species. There isn’t an obvious “safe” brand if you’re applying the conservative approach.
If you want a caffeine-free functional option
If the appeal of mushroom coffee was the caffeine-free or low-caffeine functionality, there are pregnancy-friendlier alternatives:
- Herbal coffees (chicory, carob, barley blends) — caffeine-free, food-grade ingredients, centuries of traditional use including in pregnancy. Our full herbal coffee roundup: best herbal coffee.
- Brewed cacao (Crio Bru) — minimal caffeine (~10mg), some theobromine. Pregnancy-safe at moderate intake in the same way chocolate is.
- Dandelion coffee (pure roasted dandelion root) — caffeine-free. Has some mild diuretic effect, so it’s sometimes flagged in late pregnancy by people watching for preeclampsia-relevant fluid issues. Discuss with your OB if you’re using it regularly.
- Rooibos tea — caffeine-free, high in antioxidants, and well-tolerated in pregnancy by most cultures that drink it.
The specific caffeine-free herbal coffee I recommend most often to pregnant clients who want a coffee-like morning ritual is Teeccino’s French Roast, because its ingredients (chicory, carob, barley, dates, almonds) are all food-grade with long dietary histories — no medicinal mushrooms, no concentrated herbal extracts, no caffeine. It’s not the only option, but it’s a predictable one.
For broader guidance on caffeine-free drinks in pregnancy, see safe alternatives in pregnancy. For the chicory-specific question, see is chicory coffee safe during pregnancy.
Sources & further reading
- ACOG Committee Opinion: Moderate Caffeine Consumption During Pregnancy — American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus): A systematic review of its safety and efficacy — Food & Function
- Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum): Safety assessment review — Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Reader conversation (4)
We read every response. Selected reader notes below.
This is the first article on this topic I’ve read that didn’t either say “totally fine!” or “TOXIC, AVOID!” The nuance is appreciated. I’m going to pause my Ryze until postpartum.
Glad I found this before I restocked. I hadn’t thought about the reishi specifically being an issue — I’d been assuming “it’s just mushrooms.”
Reishi and cordyceps are the two to be most cautious about in pregnancy. Lion’s mane on its own is the most benign of the common ones, but the combo blends (which are what most commercial mushroom coffees are) typically include at least one of the more-cautioned species.
What about postpartum/breastfeeding? I had been planning to start mushroom coffee for postpartum energy.
Same reasoning applies during lactation — the data just isn’t there for the extracts. If the appeal is caffeine-free morning energy, caffeine-free herbal coffees are a better-studied bet for the postpartum months. Once you’ve weaned, you can revisit mushroom coffee with less concern.
The breakdown of the actual caffeine content per brand is really useful. I didn’t realize MUD\WTR was only 35mg.
Have something to add? Email us and we may include it in a future update.