Caffeine May Contribute to Miscarriage
Expectant moms are advised to limit daily intake
 (HealthDay News) -- Consuming more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day while pregnant can greatly increase the chances of a miscarriage, researchers warn.
And the source of the caffeine doesn't seem to matter: It can come from coffee, tea, soda, even hot chocolate. What matters most appears to be the amount of caffeine that's consumed.
"What we found was that if women have heavy caffeine intake -- greater than 200 milligrams (mg) a day -- they have double the risk of miscarriage than women that don't have any caffeine," an author of the study, Dr. De-Kun Li, a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist in the division of research at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., told HealthDay .
"Women shouldn't drink more than two regular cups of coffee a day, and hopefully they stop drinking totally for at least the first three months" of pregnancy, Li said. "It's not a permanent stop. If they really have to drink [coffee], limit the amount to one or two cups -- a regular cup is about 7½ ounces."
A miscarriage is a pregnancy that ends on its own before 20 weeks of gestation, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Most often, a miscarriage occurs because of a chromosomal abnormality, and nothing could have been done to prevent the loss of the pregnancy. Sometimes, however, environmental factors play a role.
What role caffeine might have in contributing to miscarriage has been controversial, and studies have had conflicting results, possibly because of other lifestyle factors. But researchers do know that caffeine crosses the placental barrier and reaches the developing fetus.
In Li's study, the caffeine consumption habits of more than 1,000 pregnant women was assessed. During the study, 172 of the women had miscarriages.
The researchers found that about one-quarter of the women who miscarried had not consumed caffeine. About 60 percent had taken in caffeine, but no more than 200 mg daily. The remaining 15 percent had more than 200 mg of caffeine daily while pregnant.
Those who had more than 200 mg a day increased their risk of miscarriage twofold, the study found. But even women who consumed less caffeine still increased their risk, Li said. Women who had up to 200 mg had a 40 percent increased risk of miscarriage, but the finding was not considered statistically significant.
The results of the study were published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology .
Not every expert believes that coffee, tea and other caffeinated beverages are to blame for miscarriages, however.
"The problem with this study is that when people miscarry, a large percentage of those miscarriages are due to genetic abnormalities, and the researchers didn't say whether these were normal or abnormal fetuses," Dr. Laura Corio, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, told HealthDay .
But, she added, pregnant women should definitely limit themselves to one cup of coffee a day because caffeine has also been linked to low birth weights and smaller head circumferences.
"Women have a responsibility to the fetus," she said. And Corio's recommendations? "No cigarettes, no alcohol and just one cup of coffee a day."
On the Web
Learn more about caffeine and pregnancy from the March of Dimes.
SOURCES:
HealthDay News ; De-Kun Li, M.D., Ph.D., reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif.; Laura Corio, M.D., obstetrician/gynecologist, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City; January 2008, online issue, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology ; American Pregnancy Association (www.americanpregnancy.org)
Author:
Serena Gordon
Publication Date:
Jan. 31, 2009
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