Coffee during pregnancy: allowed?

For breakfast and a cup of tea in between – coffee is a popular luxury food, drives away tiredness and temporarily increases the ability to concentrate. During pregnancy, however, caffeinated drinks are not entirely harmless, because caffeine enters your baby’s bloodstream almost unfiltered. Unlike in adults, it is broken down very slowly there. It has not yet been clearly proven how the small organism reacts to the stress, but various studies indicate that too much coffee during pregnancy can harm your child.

Is Coffee Dangerous During Pregnancy?

If you take care of your body in a healthy and responsible way, you don’t have to worry about having a cup of coffee every now and then. However, if drunk regularly and in large quantities, it can have a negative effect on your child during pregnancy:

• According to a study from the USA, regular coffee consumption increases the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women . It was shown that the risk doubled with more than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day, but even smaller amounts were classified as critical. Doctors suspect that the caffeine on the one hand impairs the blood circulation in the placenta, on the other hand it can also disrupt the unborn child’s metabolic processes and cause an abortion.
• In 2008, a British research group pointed out in their study that there was a connection between regular caffeine consumption in pregnant women and reduced birth weight in their babies. On average, women who consumed more than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day gave birth to children that were 60 to 70 grams lighter than women who completely avoided coffee and similar foods.
• When you are pregnant, drinking coffee just before or after a meal impedes the absorption of calcium, iron and vitamin C. In order to provide you and your baby with sufficient nutrients, you should, unless you do without it completely, not have any caffeinated drinks or food about two hours before or after meals.

How much coffee is “allowed” during pregnancy?

Ideally, you should completely avoid coffee and other caffeinated beverages during pregnancy. If this is difficult for you, you should limit your needs to about two small cups a day. Keep in mind that other foods and some medications also contain caffeine:

• A cup of brewed coffee – an average of 100 milligrams of caffeine
• A cup of instant coffee – an average of 75 milligrams of caffeine
• A cup of black tea – an average of 50 milligrams of caffeine
• A can of Coke – an average of 40 milligrams of caffeine
• A can of energy drink – up to 80 milligrams of caffeine
• 100 grams of milk chocolate – up to 100 milligrams of caffeine

How do you manage to drink less coffee during pregnancy?

• To break habits, you can provide yourself with caffeine-free or lower-caffeine alternatives. Instead, there is a fruit or black tea for breakfast.
• If you don’t like the taste of coffee, you can find many types of coffee in the supermarket as a decaffeinated version.
• Let black tea steep half as long. Although it tastes less intense, it also contains significantly less caffeine.
• Deep breaths at the open window or a short walk in the fresh air help against tiredness, which you would otherwise dispel with coffee. You fill up on oxygen, your circulation gets going and you feel awake and fresh again.

In addition to coffee, there are a number of other stimulants that you should avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Alcohol and nicotine are particularly harmful to the baby, but you should also avoid certain foods as a pregnant woman. You can find more on this topic in our overview “What is allowed during pregnancy?”