Coffee in moderation is safe for pregnant women

A new study says that there’s nothing wrong in pregnant women consuming coffee in moderation; according to the study’s findings, this habit has no chance of affecting the IQ of their unborn babies.

The study revealed that expecting mothers who consumed caffeine didn’t give birth to babies with more behavior problems or lower IQs compared to babies born to women who didn’t have coffee during pregnancy.

In the study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology on November 19, the researchers have written that they couldn’t gather any evidence that prove that caffeine consumption during pregnancy has a bad impact on children’s behavior and cognition between the ages of 4 and 7 years.

Study coauthor Sarah Keim, Ohio State University College of Medicine’s assistant professor of epidemiology and pediatrics, said that on the whole she and her colleagues believe that the results put forward by their study would be reassuring for expecting mothers who consume caffeine in moderation or just one or two cups of coffee a day.

During the study, researchers analyzed blood samples of 2,197 pregnant women for the level of a compound known as paraxanthine at two different points during their pregnancy. For those who don’t know: when we consume caffeine, our system breaks it down into a number of compounds; paraxanthine is one of those compounds.

The blood samples were collected during the course of a 25-year long study called the Collaborative Perinatal Project. It was a study that explored connections between children’s health, pregnancy, and different perinatal factors.

https://thehoopsnews.com/2015/11/20/9388/one-diet-cannot-be-good-for-everyone-study-confirms/

Keim and her co-researchers compared the levels of paraxanthine with the children’s behavior and IQ when they were between 4 and 7 years of age. All samples investigated during this new study were collected between the years 1959 and 1974; it was a time when drinking coffee was very common among expecting moms. This allowed the researchers to get hold of a much wider range of caffeine intake levels compared to what they would have got if the study was conducted based on today’s data.

This, however, is not the first research to suggest that caffeine consumption in moderation might not be harmful for pregnant women. A study in 2012 revealed that there’s no connection between caffeine habits of moms and their babies’ chances of waking up at night.

About the author

Avatar photo

Erin Roberts

Erin is a gifted storyteller with a background in English Literature. He is in charge of long-form articles, interviews, and special reports at The Hoops News. Her ability to bring depth and context to stories sets her apart. Erin is also an avid reader and enjoys exploring new cuisines.