Sometimes it can feel like pregnancy forces you to give up all your favorite foods and beverages. You can't eat sushi or hot dogs, alcohol is off limits, and many sources even suggest banning coffee and tea. While caffeine isn't likely to harm your baby in very small amounts, it can have some effects on both you and the baby in larger quantities.
Caffeine
Coffee and black or green tea contain caffeine, which is a stimulant compound. Specifically, caffeine is a sympathomimetic, which simply means that it activates the sympathetic nervous system, also called the "fight or flight" response. While this leads to the increased awareness and alertness you feel when you drink caffeinated beverages, it also causes increased heart rate, increased respiration rate and changes in your blood flow patterns.
Early Risks
Early in pregnancy, caffeine in large quantities appears to increase your risk of miscarriage, explain Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz in their book "You: Having A Baby." Unlike many toxins that can cause increasing degrees of damage the more you consume, caffeine appears to have an "all or nothing" effect, meaning it either does no damage, or it kills a developing baby. As such, Drs. Roizen and Oz recommend limiting caffeine greatly in early pregnancy.
Later Risks
Later in pregnancy, caffeine won't likely lead to miscarriage. It could, however, increase your baby's risk of restricted growth, which means you could be more likely to have a low birth weight baby. Low birth weight puts your baby at increase risk for many medical complications, explains Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What To Expect When You're Expecting." In general, it's probably best to limit caffeine to about 200 mg per day or less.
Other Considerations
Your baby isn't the only one affected by caffeine -- it can affect you as well. Many pregnant women suffer from heartburn, and coffee and tea can exacerbate these symptoms. Further, particularly in your first and third trimesters of pregnancy, you're likely to feel extremely fatigued and may suffer from insomnia. Drinking caffeine makes it less likely that you'll get a good night's sleep, particularly if you're drinking caffeine late in the day.
References
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D, et al..; 2009
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff, et al.; 2008
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