Pregnant women who have six coffee cups' worth of caffeine every day may have smaller babies than those who consume less caffeine.
Pregnant women who have six coffee cups' worth of caffeine every day may have smaller babies than those who consume less caffeine.
Some studies have linked regular caffeine consumption during pregnancy - even relatively modest one or two cups - with a higher risk of delivering low birth weight babies. But other studies have found no such effects. Researchers have also come to conflicting conclusions as to whether caffeine affects the risk of miscarriage.
To further look into the impact of coffee intake during pregnancy on infant's health, researchers followed 7,346 Dutch women when they became pregnant. The researchers used ultrasound scans to monitor fetal growth over the course of pregnancy in these women. At each trimester, the women reported on their usual intake of coffee and tea. Most women consumed less than the equivalent of four cups of coffee per day at any point in pregnancy, but between 2 and 3 percent drank six or more cups' equivalent of caffeine per day.
Overall, babies born to heavy caffeine consumers were slightly shorter, on average, at birth and during all three trimesters of fetal development, based on the ultrasound tests. Heavy caffeine consumers also had a higher risk of having a baby who was small for gestational age - smaller than the norm for the baby's sex and the week of pregnancy during which he or she was born.
The above findings add to the conflicting body of research into whether caffeine during pregnancy affects fetal growth. Pregnant women should limit their coffee intake during pregnancy.
Some studies have linked regular caffeine consumption during pregnancy - even relatively modest one or two cups - with a higher risk of delivering low birth weight babies. But other studies have found no such effects. Researchers have also come to conflicting conclusions as to whether caffeine affects the risk of miscarriage.
To further look into the impact of coffee intake during pregnancy on infant's health, researchers followed 7,346 Dutch women when they became pregnant. The researchers used ultrasound scans to monitor fetal growth over the course of pregnancy in these women. At each trimester, the women reported on their usual intake of coffee and tea. Most women consumed less than the equivalent of four cups of coffee per day at any point in pregnancy, but between 2 and 3 percent drank six or more cups' equivalent of caffeine per day.
Overall, babies born to heavy caffeine consumers were slightly shorter, on average, at birth and during all three trimesters of fetal development, based on the ultrasound tests. Heavy caffeine consumers also had a higher risk of having a baby who was small for gestational age - smaller than the norm for the baby's sex and the week of pregnancy during which he or she was born.
The above findings add to the conflicting body of research into whether caffeine during pregnancy affects fetal growth. Pregnant women should limit their coffee intake during pregnancy.
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