Pregnancy & Baby 

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Caffeine: Harmful to baby-to-be?

I think that the reason there is so much conflicting information out there is that we just don't yet know precisely what impact caffeine may have. Studies are ongoing. Because we see heavy users of caffeine giving birth to presumably normal offspring, we know that the effects are subtle and may be individual. Also, many other variables may enter the picture. For example, it depends upon how the product, such as coffee, is prepared. Coffee varies in caffeine content. Even the size of the cup is variable, so it does no real good to say that pregnant women should limit their intake to a cup per day because interpretations of one cup vary. One tablespoon of cocoa or one eight-ounce cup of chocolate milk contains approximately 10 to 17 milligrams (mg.) of caffeine, whereas a cup of coffee contains:

drip coffee: percolated: instant: decaf:	137 to 153 mg. 97 to 125 mg. 61 to 70 mg. 0 to 4 mg.
coffee (5 oz.)	85 mg. for ground roasted coffee 60 mg. for instant 3 mg. for decaffeinated
tea (5 oz.):	30 mg. for leaf/bag 20 mg. for instant
colas:	18 mg./6 oz. serving
cocoa/hot chocolate:	4 mg./5 oz.
chocolate milk:	4 mg./6 oz.
chocolate bar:	1.5 to 6.0 mg./oz.

A published review on this issue reports that heavy caffeine use (300 mg. per day or more) during pregnancy is associated with small reductions in infant birth weight that may be especially detrimental to premature or low-birth-weight infants.

Some researchers also document an increased risk of miscarriage associated with caffeine consumption prior to and during pregnancy.

However, overwhelming evidence indicates that caffeine does not cause birth defects, nor does it affect the incidence of premature labour and delivery.

I, too, have heard about the implication of caffeine with SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome or cotdeath), but it is believed that other variables may come into play here also. Caffeine and smoking are two common co-variables. For more information on SIDS you could visit the Federation of Sudden Infant Death web site at www.sids.org.uk

I would go ahead and continue to enjoy your one cup per day; perhaps you could mix it half-and-half with decaf or milk, any efforts that you could make to reduce your intake would be of some benefit I am sure.

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