Coffee contains caffeine, a strong stimulant that can affect you and your baby. Beyond the wake-me-up that you feel from coffee, the caffeine may be causing health problems for you and your baby. Caffeine is found in more than just coffee --- chocolate, soda, tea and some medicines also contain caffeine. While some coffee may be safe, you must limit your total intake of caffeine.
Coffee and You
When you drink coffee, many of your internal systems are stimulated, including your cardiovascular system. A pregnant woman will experience an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and urination. According to the American Pregnancy Association, neither an increase in resting heart rate nor resting blood pressure is recommended during pregnancy. An increase in urination can also be dangerous because when your body fluids reduce, you risk dehydration.
Coffee and Your Baby
Caffeine is able to cross over the placental barrier. This is a problem because a fetus cannot process caffeine the same as your body can. This means that just a little caffeine may affect the fetus much more than it affects you. Caffeine can interrupt the sleeping cycle of your fetus. In addition, caffeine intake limits the blood that flows to the placenta. A reduction in blood flow means your fetus gets less oxygen and nutrients.
Miscarriage
There is some evidence that suggests caffeine consumption increases your risk of miscarriage, while other studies find no correlation, states the March of Dimes website. One study in 2008 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that pregnant women consuming more than 200 mg of caffeine double their risk of miscarriage. Another study in the "New England Journal of Medicine" in 1999 only showed an increase risk of miscarriage with large amounts of caffeine, totaling more than 500 mg per day. Yet another study released in 2008 in "Epidemiology" found no increase in miscarriage even with caffeine intakes totaling between 200 and 350 mg per day.
Recommendations
According to the March of Dimes, pregnant women should limit their intake of caffeine to 200 mg per day. This is the equivalent of one 12 oz. cup of coffee. If you drink this amount of coffee, be aware of the other sources of caffeine you may be ingesting. A chocolate milk can contain between 5 and 8 mg of caffeine, a soda can have 37 mg of caffeine and ice cream can contain 2 mg of caffeine.
