Is it safe to drink coffee while pregnant? Yes, you can drink coffee during pregnancy but in a moderate amount. Caffeine in your coffee drinks is a stimulant and diuretic. NHS recommends taking caffeine less than 200 mg a day to prevent birth defects. Other than coffee, cookies, chocolates, shakes, cakes, and biscuits also have caffeine. If you add up the total caffeine intake in a day, you might unknowingly cross the safe limit.
There is nothing like the smell of coffee to get you out of your slumber in the morning. Most of us develop an addiction to caffeine unknowingly. So the question is, “Is it safe to drink coffee while pregnant?”
As soon you’re pregnant, all things that you love undergo a safety examination. Drinking coffee during pregnancy needs a little moderation of dose. It is because caffeine is a stimulating drug when taken in a higher dose. It can affect the mental development of your baby.
But it is not that you need to complete abstinence from coffee during pregnancy. NHS states that taking less than 200 mg of caffeine a day will not affect your newborn.
The statement says caffeine and not coffee. So you need to reduce the consumption of other caffeinated products.
If you want to continue drinking coffee during pregnancy, you are allowed only a 12-ounce cup.
Other items like chocolates and soft drinks also have caffeine. You need to stop taking them altogether. Soft drinks harm your health adversely whether pregnant or not. They are carcinogenic. Dark chocolate has some benefits for you like the alkaloids.
What does coffee have?
Coffee has caffeine. The actual problem is not coffee but instead of caffeine.
Caffeine has two properties that make it unfit for consumption during pregnancy.
- Caffeine is a stimulant: A stimulant drug causes an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Pregnant women are at risk of Preeclampsia. During Preeclampsia the blood pressure goes up, and proteins start coming in urine. This condition is also called toxemia. During pregnancy and stimulant drug is very harmful to both, mother and baby.
- Caffeine is a diuretic: A diuretic drug causes an increase in urination leading to dehydration. Loss of fluids is not right in any case. During pregnancy, dehydration can cause you to faint. Falling can give you severe injuries. It is vital that you replenish your body’s water. If you decide to take caffeine during pregnancy, then drink a lot of water.
Caffeine during pregnancy: Facts and myths
Other than coffee, many food items have caffeine. Chocolates, soft drinks, few biscuits, and headache medicines have caffeine. As we are discussing the safety of coffee during pregnancy, we’ll use the word coffee.
- Coffee increases the risk of preterm labor and miscarriage.
- Drinking more than a moderate dose of coffee can cause low birth weight.
- Coffee drinkers are prone to infertility.
- Caffeine causes congenital disabilities.
- Coffee can damage your baby’s heart.
Coffee during pregnancy may not affect you, but your baby doesn’t have the metabolism to be able to handle caffeine. Thus caffeine will not break down in her body. She will continue to have the caffeine in her body for long. The permissible dose of coffee during pregnancy is less than 200 milligrams.
Is drinking coffee safe during pregnancy?
Many women face withdrawal symptoms of caffeine just like a drug. They have constant complaints about headaches and are unable to concentrate on work.
Mood swings get worse due to inadequate caffeine consumption.
Caffeine acts a brain stimulator. The reason we don’t feel sleepy after taking coffee is due to its stimulant action.
As the body gets used to caffeine, a higher dose is needed to produce the same effect later on. So you will need to take more and more cups of coffee.
Some women and men can’t start their day without coffee. It also has a psychological aspect to it. Eating dark chocolate with the same amount of caffeine doesn’t curb the craving. Only a cup of coffee during pregnancy does that.
Not only coffee, but even tea also has the same effect. Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is the worst you can do to your baby. If you drink enough water and eat fruits to compensate for harmful effects, then you’ll be at less risk.
The brain chemistry depends on how you tune it. If you are used to a big cup of coffee every morning then no matter what you do you’ll find it very hard to leave it. One needs to balance the irritability and the effects of caffeine.
Is it safe to drink coffee while pregnant? As mentioned there is no harm in taking less than 200 milligrams caffeine a day. But make sure that either you prepare the coffee or ask someone trustworthy to do it.
When you go to the cafe, some drinks might have a higher amount of caffeine.
Taking more than recommended caffeine a day during pregnancy can affect the baby.
Not drinking coffee can affect the mother’s mood. Morning sickness doesn’t allow you to get out of bed already. Not drinking their regular coffee can cause fatigue and headaches.
There is another option to coffee for pregnant women. It is Decaf coffee. It has a placebo effect.
Is it safe to drink Decaf coffee while pregnant?
Decaf coffee is like candy without sugar. As the name suggests, there is less amount of caffeine in Decaf coffee.
100% caffeine free coffee is not possible. A 12-ounce Decaf coffee cup has about 12-25 milligrams of caffeine.
So you can drink about 8 cups of Decaf coffee which is enough for any coffee addict.
This makes Decaf coffee ideal for pregnant women. There are no side effects of Decaf coffee during pregnancy. You can easily replace your second cup for the day with a Decaf coffee.
Is it safe to drink decaf coffee during pregnancy? The answer to this might not be as satisfying until Decaf coffee came. You can drink as much coffee you want if it is Decaf. But it is best to reduce the number of cups of coffee during pregnancy gradually.
This is easy to do with Decaf coffee. Take your regular morning cup of coffee followed by one or two Decaf coffee cups.
Gradually reduce the amount of coffee powder added to your morning cup.
Drinking coffee while breastfeeding is a controversial subject as it can cause problems for the baby.
So it is best to wean yourself off coffee during pregnancy gradually.
Green bean extract during pregnancy
The unroasted extract of coffee is called Green Bean Extract. Green cocoa beans undergo roasting to become coffee beans.
When roasted, cocoa beans get a rich taste and flavor due to chemicals formed due to the heat.
Green bean extract has many compounds that make them ideal for treating many diseases.
They are useful for diabetic patients and heart diseases. They boost metabolism and thus are useful for weight loss.
Many dieticians recommend people to drink green beans extracts for slimming.
During pregnancy, any such weight loss food can be harmful. Doctors strictly prohibit mothers to be for dieting.
Green bean extract can even affect the baby while breastfeeding. It is best to avoid green bean extract during pregnancy and until breastfeeding.
Green bean extract, unlike coffee, is not addictive.
You must check with your doctor about all such food items that you regularly consume.
Drinking coffee during pregnancy is safe till you consume less than 200 milligrams a day.
You need to take a few precautions along with it. Drink a lot of water and add milk to your coffee. Opt for milk latte and not black coffee.
I stayed off caffeine while pregnant. Now that I have delivered and breastfeeding my LO, is it advisable? Looking forward for some answers from fellow moms also about coffee during breastfeeding.
Luckily, with all that morning sickness and vomiting and loss of appetite, I lost all my enthusiasm for coffee during pregnancy. I couldn’t stand the smell of coffee ( I know it’s strange as I loved freshly brewed coffee!)
i have now started having decaf coffee but that too just 1-2 cups a day. Pregnancy cured by coffee addiction.
I’m tea addict. I can’t give up the addiction. My kettles are always on and I keep sipping tea. Tell me remedies for bad effects of caffeine on pregnancy. I can’t stop, reduce or switch to decaf coffee. Just suggest some home natural ways to treat bad effects of tea on developing fetus. My tea is drug and impossible to leave. Without tea, I’ve lots of headaches. Caffeine stops headache during pregnancy and stops morning sickness. So please tell some steps to take to treat caffeine effects on fetus
My mother had lots of coffee I was born a very big baby. I wore 3 months clothes and never had size zero baby clothes. Also there was sleep disturbance and I was a fussy baby. Mama told me this now when I crave for coffee. My headaches without coffee but I can live on tea. Can I drink tea while pregnant?
I used to have big cups of coffee while pregnant. Never found any good reason not too. My kids are healthy and awesome .
I’m about 19 weeks pregnant and have coffee addiction. Can someone tell me how will coffee cravings affect my baby! Body only asks for what it needs during pregnancy. So my babe wants caffeine I guess. Hehe. Plz help I’m gonna cray
I loved coffee always. My first two babies I had coffee and never read such thing. Actually I also had black tea during pregnancy. Raspberry tea and ginger tea are great for pregnancy morning sickness. Now it’s been long and im pregnant again and feel the need for coffee. But I’m also worried now. It’s better to not know and do things carefree.
I am 8 weeks in to pregnancy and am totally off coffee and tea. It was easy for me. 🙂
Very nice article thanks for telling me but I’m soory ill drink one cup at least. Hope one cup a day won’t affect my pregnancy. Can coffee affect pregnancy test results? I was wondering if caffeine is diuretic then it can affect pt results.
Noooooo, i can’t imagine myself dozing off at work. I need my morning cup. I can quit smoking and alcohol during pregnancy. But dont wanna leave coffee and be a sluggish sloth at work. I’m a working momma to be and have to work to support financial crisis. Please tell me most healthy alternative to coffee or Caffè for pregnant women. Admin please guide me I need yo help.
Chill guys, i drank 3-5 cups of coffee, had sushi, sometimes wine and healthy babies. Don’t stress out yourself it isn’t much discussion. Times have changed it is unrealistic to expect a womam to leave everything just because she is pregnant. Your baby is important and youre important too. When you are bearing so much then you can enjoy your morning cuppa. Juts te mention that when morning sickness hits then you may not feel like drinking coffee and smell of coffee brings nausea. Later you can start one cup a day of you are so bothered. Ps I’ve heard some women had miscarriage when they totally cut off caffeine. Don’t know how far it is true but I read this. Swear.
Okay my lovi ladies. Listen to my story to help you make right choice for pregnancy about coffee. All this debate around coffee during pregnancy isn’t random. I had 4 miscarriage I’m 55 years old. Yeah oldie. My daughter is pregnant god bless amen my little gal will have a baby. So she showed me this discussion about coffee during pregnancy and other research about pregnancy and caffeine. In our time no Internet so no one could tell me. I used to drink coffee felt tempting during pregnancy. When I was 7-8 weeks pregnant I took everyday a cup of coffee. And then later I would bleed. Once I was pregnant I did not even know a c suddenly bright red blood came and doctor told me I was pregnant and had early miscarriage because of caffeine overdose. I was shocked that I only take one cup. Then when I was trying to. Conceive again TTC 4time I went off coffee. I was able to have my first baby. Now my daughter was dealing with PCOS and TTC. I told her to cut down coffee, it’s food to avoid during pregnancy. She is having a healthy baby and we saw in ultrasound everything is great amen.
Oops, I’m still having my cuppa of coffee while reading this. Gosh I feel guilty but then we woman can’t simply die of wishes. No wine, no coffee, no sushi for pregnant women. We goota live our lives… But I love my baby too. I knew I am doing wrong, soda, cookie, muffin, mocha, is increasing caffeine intake during pregnancy. Since my college days when my exams there I drank lot of coffee. Noe I’m addicted to coffee when pregnant. Very difficult to stop drinking coffee. I can’t limit my caffeine. But this green bean extract not safe for pregnant women woah it is healthy but omg they don’t want us drink it also. I can’t understand I think I’m having emotion fallout. But thanks to anyone who will tell me right thing to do.
I don’t like coffee before pregnancy but with my first baby in first trimester mt hubby take me to cafe. The smell of coffee feels nice for morning sickness relief. I now take a mocha, cappuccino, latte or frappe but I read about harm of caffeine to baby. Now I’m really scared. Is my baby OK? I only drink coffee once in a week. But not sure of 200 mg caffeine a day for preggo. Some cakes, cookies, chocolates have caffeine and even my favourite lime soda which I drink when I get nausea. I’m so scared now. What do I do? My baby ???…… Can you tell me how much coffee harms the baby? If I already drink coffee is my baby oki? ?
Has anyone heard about chocolate during pregnancy? I read just like coffee chocolate too isn’t good for preggos. Please share your thoughts. I have two daughters and now pregnant for third time. Last two times I couldn’t control choco craving during pregnancy but this time I made sure that I don’t eat more than 1 bite chocolate or cocoa. But I c no change. Coffee during pregnancy is not as tasty, why. Now I don’t feel like drinking coffee of Caffè when pregnant. But sodas and candy with Caffè is tasty in the morning sickness. Decaf coffee is joke of mah lyf. Coffee without caffeine for pregnancy, but is it good, say gals
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