Caffeine and Pregnancy: How much is too much

One of the first things most of us women prepare to say goodbye to once we see those two pink lines on our pregnancy tests is caffeine. Many women will stop their caffeine habit cold turkey out of the sheer fear of doing some sort of damage to the new life growing inside of them. These women will swear off anything that has caffeine in it from coffee, and soda to even chocolate. Then there are some of us who will still drink caffeine but cut back. Instead of drinking five cups of coffee a day, we might cut back to at least one cup of coffee to get us through the day.

Our mothers and grandmothers will probably tell us that they drank the same amount of caffeine pregnant as they did when they were not pregnant and their children turned out fine. However, a lot more research has been done since their time and studies are showing that too much caffeine can cause some complications such as preterm labor and/or low birth weight.

So how much caffeine is too much? The official guidance keeps shrinking. ACOG currently draws the line at 200 milligrams a day — roughly one strong 8-ounce cup — and calls that “moderate.” But the landmark CARE study found that women consuming 200 milligrams or more per day had more than double the risk of miscarriage, and caffeine does cross the placenta. In other words, the official “safe” ceiling and the first dose with measurable risk are the same number.

Studies have also shown that women who had over 500 milligrams of caffeine a day had babies who had faster heart rates and faster breathing rates. These babies also spent more time awake in their first few days of life rather than peacefully sleeping after their long journey.

There are a number of other reasons why we women might want to cut back on the amount of caffeine we drink during pregnancy. For starters, it has no nutritional value. If there is ever a time for us to be aware of our nutritional needs it is when we are pregnant. Second, caffeine is a stimulant that will increase your heart rate and can cause insomnia and headaches which can put some stress on your growing little one. Third, caffeine can cause heartburn. If you have been pregnant before you know that heartburn can be a burden, to begin with, and caffeine just makes it worse. Lastly, it is a diuretic which means it can cause you to lose fluids which can put you at risk of becoming dehydrated.

Many doctors frame this as a moderation question, but the simplest answer during pregnancy is zero — with something warm in your hands that doesn't feel like a sacrifice. Decaf still carries traces of caffeine, and caffeine-free sodas trade one problem for sugar. A naturally caffeine-free cup like Coffig — roasted figs, nothing else — keeps the full morning ritual with nothing to weigh against it. As with everything in pregnancy, your doctor gets the final word.