Is it safe to drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages during pregnancy?
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Trying to keep track of all of the no-nos during pregnancy can become overwhelming. Making this task even harder, are questions like the safety of caffeine during pregnancy, since there are so many conflicting studies and opinions available. If you are unsure about drinking coffee or ingesting caffeine during your pregnancy, you should ask your health care practitioner. He or she should be able to give you the most up to date information on the effects caffeine have on your baby.
Caffeine is one of the worlds oldest drugs. It has been used for thousands of years, and some have traced its use back to the stone ages. Currently, coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world, second only to petroleum. This is evidence by the fact that coffee is consumed in mass quantities in the United States, with the average coffee drinking American consuming 3.1 cups of coffee per day. Caffeine is a stimulant drug found in coffee, and so when we drink it we receive an energy boost. That energy boost comes from an addictive drug, meaning that if you feel like you cannot start your day without your coffee, you probably are addicted to caffeine.
There have been studies that have linked malformations of the baby and infertility problems to caffeine use. These studies show that rats that ingest the equivalent of 70 cups of coffee per day in humans had problems with malformed fetuses. Being that most of us would not (and could not) drink 70 cups of coffee a day, this information tells us little about what the harmful effects of a cup or two of coffee could be. It is probably best to drink coffee in moderation and if possible, try giving it up all together. Any time we can avoid ingesting a drug during pregnancy, it is probably best to do so. It is unlikely, though, that drinking a cup of coffee or tea occasionally will do any long term damage to your baby.
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