Caffeine and Pregnancy

Coffee now safe to drink during pregnancy!

A new study published in the British Medical Journal, January 2007, reports its okay for pregnant women to enjoy drinking coffee. In fact, researchers found moderate levels of caffeinated coffee (about 3 cups per day) did not lead to any greater risk of premature births and underweight babies despite warnings from some public health officials.

About the study: Danish researchers monitored the pregnancies of 1,207 healthy women who drank more than three cups of coffee a day. This large group was divided randomly into two equal groups who received either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee (participants were not told what type of coffee they were drinking). Each participant was regularly interviewed to monitor their caffeine intake from other drinks, such as tea and cola. The final results showed that there was no real difference in either the length of pregnancy or birth weight of the babies between the two groups.

Although this study removes the "no caffeine during pregnancy" rule, I still recommend you seek the advice of your personal obstetrician.

Amount of caffeine in popular beverages

Average coffee (8oz): 100-150milligrams

Black Tea (8oz): 40 milligrams

Green Tea (8oz): 20 milligrams

Starbucks:

Tall (12oz):195mg caffeine

Grande (16oz): 260mg

Venti (20oz): 325mg

1 oz shot of espresso: 65mg

Decaf Brewed Coffee

Tall (12oz): 8-20mg

Grande (16oz): 10-25mg

Venti (20oz): 12-32mg

Dunkin Donuts:

Brewed Coffee

Small (10oz): 129mg

Medium (14oz): 181mg

Large (20oz): 258mg

Decaf

Small (10oz): 9mg

Medium (14oz): 13mg

Large (20oz): 18mg