Is Caffeine Bad for Babies? Pregnant Moms Told to Stop Drinking Coffee and Tea

If you’re a coffee or tea lover, and pregnant or you’re keen to increase your odds of getting pregnant this year, sad to break this news but sipping even a scant amount of coffee or tea should make you think twice because caffeine is bad for babies even in meager amounts.

This is according to The BMJ Journal, an evidence-based medicine publication that released new findings concerning the pernicious effects of caffeine on pregnant women and on those who try to conceive.

Observational studies on the link between negative pregnancy and caffeine consumption.

International researchers delved into the 37 observational studies and discovered that there’s a strong link between caffeine and poor pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight, childhood leukemia, and childhood obesity.

Recommended caffeine daily limit intake for pregnant women is currently at 200 milligrams a day or less, a recommendation that the authors of the observational studies vehemently reject as it allegedly poses risks to infants’ well being.

Though these studies have not established cause- and -effect, the international researchers still suggest that the results of the studies require “radical revision” concerning guideline recommendations on caffeine consumption for pregnant women.

Jack E. James, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Reykjavik University in Iceland, also agreed and told Healio Primary Care that no amount of caffeine consumption is safe during pregnancy and that Chronic exposure to any chemical during pregnancy is cause for concern.

He was also quoted as saying that caffeine should not be an exception because it “happens to be widely consumed.”

The coffee association swiftly published a counter- statement from Dr. Alan Leviton, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School who has done studies on coffee sponsored by the National Coffee Association.

“The review draws conclusions from studies that rely on self-reported consumption data, which is notoriously inaccurate,” Leviton said in a statement, according to CNN.

There were, however, several experts with no conflict of interest, who looked into the findings and were not as well convinced. Their primary reason for not conceding to the

results of the review was due to the lack of established cause and effect relationship data as the studies were just purely observational.

Rajasingam of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said in a statement “As the study notes, high levels of caffeine during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage and babies having a low birth weight and may lead to excess weight gain in the child’s early years, which can increase risk of health problems later in life,”

But Rajasingam concluded that “pregnant women do need to cut caffeine out entirely because these risks are extremely small, even if the recommended caffeine limits are exceeded”

The aroma of a freshly brewed coffee in the morning is nothing short of intoxicating, especially when your body craves for an energy boost to sustain you as your energy levels ebb and flow as the day progresses.

This is especially true for pregnant women who are often sleep-deprived and are more likely to suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome.

Nevertheless, in light of conflicting reports from experts, it is always better to err on the side of caution. But ultimately, the choice is in your hands.