Pregnant women have never been advised to abuse these drinks before. And now, it seems, it is just right to ban them altogether.
Someone is sure that coffee is very harmful, someone assures that, on the contrary, it is useful. The truth, as usual, lies in the middle – in moderate quantities, caffeine benefits the body, and if abused, any useful substance turns into poison. But in the case of pregnant women, everything is not so simple and straightforward. Scientists recently conducted a study that included more than 900 mothers. Experts asked women if they drank tea or coffee during pregnancy. It turned out that 48 percent preferred tea, another 38 percent preferred coffee. It was in Ireland, so the reasons for this choice are obvious: the UK’s neighborhood affects preferences.
The research results are surprising nonetheless. Until now, it was believed that during pregnancy, you can consume up to 300 milligrams of caffeine per day, and this will not affect the health of the unborn baby and the mother herself. These are WHO recommendations. Obstetric services in the US and UK advise limiting yourself to 200 milligrams. But scientists have found that even a much smaller dose affects the child. Those women who didn’t deny themselves a cup of coffee or tea had children … less. Babies at birth weighed less than their “caffeine-free” counterparts, and sometimes even were born prematurely.
“Every 100 mg of caffeine – about half a cup of coffee – consumed daily during the first trimester reduces the weight of the baby at birth by 72 grams,” the scientists concluded.
The babies were less not only in weight, but also in height and head circumference. Therefore, scientists have advised avoiding caffeinated drinks in the first trimester of pregnancy altogether.
“Caffeine can restrict blood flow in the placenta, and this affects the growth of the fetus. In addition, caffeine can build up in the tissues of an unborn baby, ”says Dr. Chen, head of the study.
According to him, the danger is also that expectant mothers often do not know how much caffeine their drink contains. A cup of black tea, for example, can contain 23 to 110 mg of this substance.
By the way, earlier studies revealed the following pattern: if a woman gets about 200 mg of caffeine per day during pregnancy, the risk of miscarriage is 25 percent. And if you avoid this stimulant, the likelihood of miscarriage is halved. One last thing: it turns out that coffee and tea during pregnancy increase the likelihood that a baby will be obese. So maybe it’s worth stopping at caffeine-free coffee, no matter how ridiculous it may sound?