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Is it safe to have my morning cup of coffee during pregnancy?

I generally recommend decaffeinated products, but if you must have caffeine, don't have more than one small cup a day.

In studies of dairy cattle, when pregnant cows were given more than the equivalent of three cups daily, their calves were born smaller. Too much caffeine also cuts down on blood flow to the placenta, and you don't want to do that because the baby won't be getting as much oxygen or as many nutrients.

A new study in San Francisco of 1,000 women in their first trimester has shown a doubling of miscarriage at 200 mg of caffeine per day. That's about the amount of caffeine you'd get if you drank 2 small cups of coffee or 5 cans of caffeinated soda. (Women who drank 200 mg. of caffeine per day had a miscarriage rate of 25 percent; those who drank 100 mg per day had a miscarriage rate of 15 percent, and those who drank no caffeine had a rate of 12 percent.)

Based on this new data, I would recommend no more than one small cup (no extra large cups of coffee) or can of products with caffeine per day. (That's a total, so you'll need to avoid multiple sources of caffeine on the same day.) In addition, avoid consuming energy drinks and other products that contain large amounts of caffeine.

A very extensive study a few years ago looked at women very early in pregnancy. The study found no effects on the fetus when moms drink up to three cups of coffee a day; very few women drank more than that. A more recent study found an increased risk of miscarriage when pregnant women drank more than 200 mg of caffeine per day.


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