Drop That Coffee!

Caffeine limitation has for quite some time been common advice to pregnant women from their doctors. However, new research indicates that cutting out caffeine could be much more important to a successful pregnancy than previously thought.

The latest study was conducted and lead by head researcher De-Kun Li, a Kaiser Permanente reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist. This research program included over 1000 women, all located in the Bay region of California. Ages varied between the women in the study, but all of the subjects were in their twenties and thirties. This study had women keep a record of all the caffeine they consumed. The source of the caffeine was irrelevant to this study. Regardless of if it came from soda, tea or steamy cup of coffee, it was all documented.

What this study found was that women who consumed more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day had an increased chance for a miscarriage. Just how much was the chance of miscarriage increased by caffeine intake? The study found that caffeine consumption doubled the chance of a miscarriage, compared to someone who consumed no caffeine.

This particular study is set apart from other studies because it was initiated extremely early in the pregnancies of the women monitored. Other studies have failed to do this, which has made the impact that caffeine can have on pregnancy somewhat of a vague concept. The possibility of a miscarriage is most prominent in the first three to four months of pregnancy. By having women involved in the study in those early months of pregnancy the results obtained were more specific and accurate than previous research projects on caffeine and pregnancy.

Most women however, don't measure their caffeine intake in milligrams, they do so by cups of coffee or whatever beverage they consume. To translate the amount of caffeine considered dangerous, you have to be more specific than that. A typical eight ounce cup of coffee can have somewhere around 140 milligrams of caffeine. If you get your coffee from Starbucks, their typical tall-coffee has 240 milligrams of caffeine. Green tea has 25 milligrams of caffeine per cup. Beverages like Pepsi or Coke can have up to 40 milligrams of caffeine in one twelve ounce can. As you can see, all of that caffeine can quickly add up to over 200 milligrams in a day, which is why many doctors don't just recommend limiting caffeine for pregnant women, but completely cutting it out of their diet.