Coffee during pregnancy

Can we drink coffee while pregnant?

Should you avoid coffee during pregnancy? This is another question that torments us when we are pregnant. If we’re addicted to your morning coffee, don’t worry, we can keep taking it. However, with the nausea of ​​the first trimester, it is quite possible that this one makes us sickened very quickly. However, it will be necessary to ensure limit our coffee consumption during those nine months. On the one hand, because coffee may worsen all the small frequent ailments of pregnancy such as heartburn, sleep disorders. And on the other hand, because coffee is a major source of caffeine, also found in tea, cola-based sodas, energy drinks, and even chocolate. Gold, excessive consumption of caffeine can have repercussions on the fetus.

Coffee and pregnancy: what are the risks?

According to a Norwegian study of nearly 60 pregnant women, the results of which were published in 000, caffeine could induce growth retardation in the fetus. Moms who consume between 2013 mg and 200 mg of caffeine (i.e. 300 to 1 coffees) are more likely to deliver a baby with a low birth weight than those who ingested less than 50 mg of caffeine per day. Another research, published this time by Inserm a few months later, once again warns of the dangers of caffeine in pregnant women. This study shows that the consumption of coffee during pregnancy would affect the fetal brain development.

To arrive at this conclusion, the researchers reproduced in female mice a regular consumption of coffee (equivalent of 2-3 coffees per day in humans), throughout the gestation period (19-20 days). ” Baby mice were much more sensitive to epileptic seizures and, once they became adults, we observed that they had significant problems with spatial memory, that is, difficulty in finding their way around their environment. », Noted Christophe Bernard, author of the study. Nevertheless, the researchers relativized these conclusions by recalling the difficulty of transposing the results obtained on animals to the human population.

Caffeine: recommendations for pregnant women

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pregnant women should not not consume more than 300 mg of caffeine per day, which corresponds to approximately 3 cups of filter coffee. The Norwegian study, however, noted a risk for the baby from 200 mg of caffeine per day, knowing that cocoa, cola and tea also contain it!

However, there is no question of falling into psychosis. The important thing is to watch your caffeine consumption and choose drinks that are free from it, such as fruit juices, herbal teas, or to opt for decaffeinated drinks.