Pregnant women have a great deal to think about when it comes to putting together a healthy diet. If you have looked into pregnancy nutrition guidelines, you know that it's as much about what you leave out of your diet as it is about what you include, because some foods contain toxins that can harm an unborn child. Alcohol and caffeine are two substances with potential to damage a baby -- though to different extents -- and pregnant women should be aware of their harmful potential.
Diuretic Effects
Perhaps the least harmful effect of both alcohol and caffeine is that each is a diuretic, explain Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz in their book, "You: Having A Baby." This means that they cause the kidneys to filter blood faster than they otherwise would, leading to increased urination and the potential for dehydration. If you are like most pregnant women, you probably spend more time in the bathroom than you'd like to -- even without the influence of a diuretic in your diet. Furthermore, it's quite dangerous to become dehydrated during pregnancy, and it can compromise nutrient and oxygen delivery to your baby.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
The diuretic effect of alcohol is just the tip of the toxin iceberg -- alcohol is known to cause serious birth defects in unborn babies. It decreases birth weight, decreases brain weight, and leads to a host of symptoms, collectively known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, explains Dr. Raymond Poliakin in his book, "What You Didn't Think To Ask Your Obstetrician." Alcohol-exposed fetuses grow into fussier babies who are slower to learn and develop physically. Notes Poliakin, since there's no amount of alcohol that has been established as safe for pregnant women, it's best to avoid it entirely.
Miscarriage
Researchers are a little more split on the issue of caffeine than they are on alcohol, explain Roizen and Oz. Some research shows that moderate caffeine use has no negative outcome in pregnancy, with other research suggests that it might. Nearly all research shows that light caffeine use is probably fine during pregnancy, especially after the first trimester. Roizen and Oz suggest that to be safe, you should limit caffeine -- particularly during the first trimester -- because using too much can increase your potential for miscarriage.
References
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
- "What You Didn't Think to Ask Your Obstetrician"; Raymond Poliakin, M.D.; 2007
