Should Pregnant Women Avoid Caffeine?

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For several years, there’s been an ongoing debate about whether or not pregnant women should indulge in caffeine. Some studies have indicated that high levels of caffeine negatively affect pregnant women and their babies. However, the real question may be regarding how much caffeine is safe to have while pregnant.

Caffeine is both a diuretic and a stimulant that increases heart rate and blood pressure, both of which aren’t good for pregnant women. It also causes frequent urination and this can lead to becoming dehydrated. You control how much caffeine you intake but you baby doesn’t. So it’s good to remember that caffeine affects your baby just as it does you, only more so.

In preparation for pregnancy, many women start practicing better health habits to make sure their bodies are healthy when they become pregnant. Reducing your caffeine intake is a great idea because studies have linked high levels of caffeine consumption to delayed conception. Low to moderate amounts of caffeine seem to be safe, but if you’re a heavy caffeine drinker, you should start cutting down when trying to get pregnant. Caffeine effects on sperm haven’t been conducted.

A daily amount of less than 300 mg of caffeine seems to be fine after conception. There are some studies that have found more miscarriages in women that take in over 300 mg of caffeine daily along with pre-term labor and low birth weight. Animal studies have shown reduced fertility, birth defects and other reproductive issues with caffeine but human studies aren’t showing these so far.

Something else that women need to consider is that drinking too much caffeine during the later stages of pregnancy will cause babies to absorb it from their mothers. This can lead to increased breathing rate, faster heart rate and tremors. In addition, women that consumed high amounts of caffeine late in their pregnancies can expect the baby first year to be a busy one. Babies that get too much caffeine before birth have been shown to have terrible sleep patterns.

If you’re thinking of becoming pregnant and you drink more than 3 cups of coffee daily, you may want to start weaning yourself down to a safer amount of caffeine before conceiving. It will be much healthier for both you and your baby.

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October 16, 2011 | Filed Under Parenting

 

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