How much coffee can a pregnant woman drink?

There is consensus that pregnant women and those trying to conceive should not consume too much caffeine, although there is still no consensus on what amount of caffeine is safe during pregnancy.

Dr. Memli Morina, mr. sci
gynecologist - obstetrician
by phone: 045 725 725 XNUMX

It is best for pregnant women not to drink more than one or two cups of coffee per day (corresponding to 200 milligrams of caffeine).

A study was published in which women who consumed more than 200 mg of caffeine per day had twice the risk of miscarriage compared to women who did not consume any caffeine.

One thing is for sure, a pregnant woman will feel much better if she does not consume too much caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant and makes the heart beat faster. In addition, caffeine causes insomnia and makes you feel restless. Caffeine causes heartburn (burning behind the chest) because it stimulates the secretion of uric acid.

All these effects are much more pronounced as the pregnancy progresses because the body has a harder time metabolizing caffeine and therefore caffeine stays in the body longer.

In the second trimester of pregnancy, the metabolism time of caffeine is twice as long compared to the period outside pregnancy. In the third trimester, it takes three times longer to metabolize caffeine than it does outside of pregnancy.

In this case, caffeine stays longer in the bloodstream, more caffeine crosses the placenta and reaches the baby's blood, which the baby cannot metabolize. This also applies to newborn babies, so it is not good for a pregnant woman to drink too much coffee while breastfeeding.

Another reason why you shouldn't overdo it with coffee and tea is that regardless of whether they are caffeinated or decaffeinated, all of these drinks contain substances called phenols. Phenols make it more difficult for iron to be absorbed from the intestines.

It is recommended to drink coffee or tea between two meals so that it affects the absorption of iron less.

Newborn babies whose mothers consumed more than 500 mg of caffeine per day had higher heart rates and slept less in the first days after birth.

There is no association between moderate caffeine consumption and preterm birth. Also, caffeine consumption does not increase the risk of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia.

What drinks have caffeine?

Of course coffee has caffeine. The amount of caffeine depends on the type of coffee and the way it is prepared, as well as the size of the cup in which it is served.

It should not be forgotten that there is caffeine in other drinks, energy drinks, chocolate and ice cream.

Caffeine is also found in some drugs used for headaches, anti-allergic drugs, and therefore you should consult your gynecologist beforehand for any drug. /Telegraph/