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Coffee During Pregnancy
By admin | July 17, 2009
Pregnancy is a joyous journey, but there are a lot of “rules” every pregnant woman needs to follow in order to provide the best possible health for her unborn baby.
How much exercise is enough? What foods to avoid? Which kind of fish is dangerous? Will my favourite cup of coffee harm baby’s health?
Thankfully, there are answers to your questions. But, we will answer only one question in this article. The question is: is it safe to drink coffee/tea/caffeinated sodas during pregnancy? How much caffeine is too much?
In the past, doctors believed that drinking coffee or other liquids containing caffeine should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding time. This was a rather controversial issue, and it had doctors and scientists on both sides discussing and arguing.
Today, the issue is still alive. But, the general thought and agreement is that the pregnant women and those trying to concieve should avoid drinking large quantities of caffeine. They believe moderation is everything – but how much caffeine is OK?
What Studies Show
The March Of Dimes recommends that woman’s daily intake of caffeine during pregnancy should not be more than 200mg. Again, doctors advise women to watch their diet and make sure their caffeine intake isn’t above 200mg per day.
Studies showed that too much caffeine during pregnancy (more than 200mg per day) doubled the chances of miscarriage, compared to women who drank little to no caffeine at all. Other risks include reduced blood flow to placenta, and therefore affect your baby’s developing cells.
A study conducted in Europe showed that with women who drank more than 8 cups of coffee per day, risk of stillbirth more than doubled, compared to women who drank little to no coffee. Other study showed that babies, whose mothers drank more than 500mg of caffeine per day, had faster heart rates and spent less time sleeping few days after their birth.
Problems With Measuring Safe Dose Of Caffeine
The amount of coffee a person drinks per day is hard to measure. It depends on the brewing method of coffee, bean type, amount of coffee a person puts in one cup, size of a cup etc.
Also, caffeine is present in tea, coffee ice cream, energy drinks, many types of sodas, over-the-counter drugs, herbal products and many more. Because of this, it’s best to minimize or completely ban caffeine in drinks.
Solution
The best solution would be to cut out coffee, teas and sodas during pregnancy. Since this is sometimes easier said than done, you can help yourself and your baby with few compromises. Instead of drinking 3+ medium cups of coffee or tea per day, mother-to-be can drink 1-2 cups per day. It’s best to eliminate sugary sodas and energy drinks during pregnancy and switch them with water.
Another solution is to replace your morning cup of caffeine with half-caf/half-decaf or decaf cup of yummines. There is almost no taste difference, it will put your mind to rest and help your unborn baby’s health. And just to be safe, never drink more than 1-2 regular size cups of coffee/tea per day, even though it might be decaf.
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