Caffeine and Miscarriages
An interesting paper was just published talking about caffeine consumption and the occurrence of miscarriages during the first three months of pregnancy. I'd like to share this information with you. Watch my TODAY show segment for more information and scroll down for the video clip if you missed it live.
There have been reports of caffeine and miscarriage rates for several decades, but the scientific evidence collected was really not sufficient to connect caffeine intake and miscarriages rate. This study, from the Kaiser Permanente Research Institute in California, looked at a group of about 1000 women in the San Francisco area. Importantly, they controlled for a lot of factors thought to be related to miscarriage—including maternal age, alcohol consumption, nausea/vomiting, and others. One major finding popped out: Those women with the highest caffeine intake (more than 200mg per day, daily) had double the number of miscarriages as those women who did not consume caffeine at all. 25 women out of 100 miscarried in the high caffeine group, compared with 12 in the 0mg caffeine ingestion group. Those women who ingested "some caffeine" (more than 0, but less than 200) showed a slight increase of 15 women per 100 (compared to 12 in the caffeine-free group).
So, what does this mean for newly pregnant women? Many obstetricians already advise their patients to eliminate, or greatly reduce, their daily caffeine intake when pregnant. This study helps support this recommendation.
Now, cutting out caffeine is not going to guarantee a miscarriage will not occur, but it appears that high consumption increases risk significantly.
What does 200mg of caffeine look like? it's two small cups of coffee, four cups of tea, or five cans of soda. The study pointed out that it was the caffeine, not the product containing it, since women consumed all kinds of caffeinated beverages.
Are you newly pregnant? Know someone who is? What advice are they getting about caffeine intake? With this new observation, it seems wise to reduce daily caffeine intake, if not eliminate it totally.
For those that need a substitute, try decaffeinated coffee and tea, or herbal tea to dramatically lower your caffeine intake, yet provide a warm beverage.
Looking for a "jolt?" Try a quick shower, take brisk walk, go out and get some sunshine, eat a fruit, have some juice, or drink a cold glass of water.
What else have you tried?
Comments
I have a question and a comment. My question is, Are these findings throughout the pregnancy or just in the first trimester?
My comment is regarding the advice to drink "herbal" tea. I am pregnant now and have been advissed by my doctor NOT to drink herbal teas.
The distintion needs to be made between what is and is not an herbal tea. Some herbs are not safe for pregnancy and some have not had enough research from the FDA to consider them safe or not safe. I, for one, being pregnant will aviod anything that is questionable. Why take that chance? I have attached a very informative article that clarified some of my questions about this issue. I hope it helps someone. In the future, I hope that The Today Show and all contributors are a bit more thorough in their studies and reporting.
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/herbaltea.html
Thank you.
Where can I get a copy of this study? I am in the Army am currently doing research on the effects of caffeine and pregnancy. I have searched many journal databases and have been unable to get the study. Thanks!
2LT Noyes
2 cups coffee caused my labor at 8 mos - strongly against pregnant women drinking/eating caffeine products
I have been a labor/delivery nurse for 37 years and have seen the effects of caffeine first hand on labor, particularly pre-term labor and pre-eclampsia. Your discussion on the today show was very good, except you left out there are other sodas and other drinks that have high amounts of caffeine. Examples are Moutain dew and some of the organge drinks. Reading the labels is a strong recommendations, it is not just the colas that are high in caffeine.
According to longterm OB/GYN studies, statistically 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. That said, caffeine effects our bodies(thus our babies whether in utero or breatfeeding) more than we are willing to admit.
2LT Michael Noyes, There was an artical published by the New England Jornal of Medicine http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/343/25/1839. It was posted in December 2000 though. However the recent study from today is by Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. You see see the article at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/epr-kps011508.php.
I quit caffeine about a year before getting pregnant with my first child, and all through my pregnancy people were telling me that caffeine wasn't so bad. When I'd order lemonade instead of an iced tea, they'd tell me that the sugar was just as harmful as caffeine and that would be better off with the iced tea. Well, I guess I was right all along.
I had a cup of coffee everyday when I was pregnant and to tell you the truth I had a healthy baby with no complications. I grew up around women who consumed caffeine throughout their pregancies with no issues. Which is why I'm having a hard time believing it.
I don't know what to say about this. I know it is helpful to know this but am a bit annoyed as I had a missed miscarriage on Jan 3rd. I did have a few cups of coffee once in a while when I was exhausted. My mom drank coffee throughout all of her pregnancies and had 4 healthy daughters. I really try not to blame myself but this information is not helping! My nurse said to limit it to about 2 cups a day. And did this study test to see whether these miscarriages were due to chromosomal problems (like many are) or whether it was another reason? I didnt read or hear anything about that. Anyway, I just feel like maybe if I hadn't had any coffee at all that things would be different for me...
A word of caution--it's not possible to strip ALL of the caffeine out of coffee. "Decaffeinated" coffee still has caffeine in it, sometimes as much as a caffeinated soda.
I cut out caffeine with my first child, drank a little with my second, and drank 3 small cups a day with my third. They are all healthy.
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