Im 5 months pregnant and I was wondering if1cup of coffee a day is ok ?

Question

It's weird because im not a coffe drinker. But ever since I bacame pregnant I crave one cup of coffe a day. I was just wondering if its ok before I call my ob and find out. Give me your answer.

Answer 1

Yes I believe you will be fine... I had 2 cups of coffee a day throughout both pregnancies and my kids were perfectly healthy.
You should still check with your doctor just to be sure but I believe it will be fine.

Answer 2

I know how you feel I am 9 months prego and I never drank Soda ever and it was the one thing I craved. LOL. You are allowed to have 8 ounces of caffeine a day. That can be coffee or soda. Whatever else you may want to drink. I would try your hardest not to want the coffee. I know that is hard. I wanted Pepsi everyday when I was around my 5th month and now it has passed. It will not harm your baby to have some caffeine. Just dont over do it because it does increase the babies heart rate! But 8 ounces will not do anything really bad. So good luck and congrats on the baby!

Answer 3

I found some interesting information on caffeine use. In a study done with 16 women who consumed more than 600 mg of caffeine daily, five delivered stillborn babies, eight spontaneously aborted, two delivered prematurely and one achieved a normal pregnancy and delivery. (Source: Nutrition in Pregnancy and Lactation, Fifth Edition, By Bonnie Worthington-Roberts and Sue Rodwell Williams. The authors got the information about the 16 women from a study by Weathersbee PS, Olsen LK, Lodge JR: Caffeine and pregnancy: a retrospective survey, Postgrad Med 62:64, 1977.)

Another study with women consuming moderate to heavy amounts (150 mg/day) are more likely to experience late first and second trimester spontaneous abortions (miscarriages) compared to women who consume less than 150 mg daily.

Consuming 300 mg or more is considered heavy usage, and those women are 50 percent more likely to spontaneously abort. The reason it can cause spontaneous abortion is that caffeine may alter the blood flow to the placenta. Another side effect with the decrease of blood flow is that the baby is not receiving all the nourishment it needs. That results in growth retardation and low birth weight. Caffeine consumption of 300 mg or more increases the risk of having a low birth-weight baby, and may cause a reduction in head circumference as well. Three hundred mg is equal to three 5-ounce cups of coffee. (Source: Weathersbee PS, Lodge JR: Alcohol, caffeine and nicotine as factors in pregnancy, Postgrad Med 66:165, 1979.)

After birth, there is a potential for problems, too; in a recent study published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, researchers from New Zealand reported that children of women who consumed 400 mg of caffeine a day were more than twice as likely to die of SIDS. The research team from Community Child and Family Service in Christchurch, New Zealand, explains that caffeine's stimulant effect may leave the baby "with an inadequate respiratory drive." The authors also stress, "The importance of this finding is that drinking coffee, tea and cola is a common and easily modifiable behavior. Mothers, therefore, have the opportunity to alter this risk factor." (Measures used: 1 cup coffee: 100 mg, 1 cup tea: 40mg, 1 cola: 40mg)

Keep in mind that there are other lifestyle factors that play a role. Studies show that women who consume high amounts of caffeine also tend to smoke. If your wife is a smoker, that will also affect the outcome of her pregnancy. If she is not going to cut out her caffeine completely, ask her to cut it down to no more than 300 mg/day. If she is worried about having withdrawal effects, suggest she gradually cut down, maybe combine decaf coffee and regular, then gradually cut down the amount of regular in the mixture.

Consuming large amounts of caffeine does not mean your wife will have a miscarriage or that your baby will die of SIDS, but it increases the chances greatly! The studies show the possibility is there, but everyone is chemically different, and many women may not have any problems -- but that is not to say she won't. I think she should take these significant risk factors into account.

Answer 4

They suggest no caffeine at all, but most people can't abide by that rule. One cup a day shouldn't hurt anything, but if it is just a craving that you're looking to satisfy, why don't you just drink decaf? It has the same taste so you can be safe as well as satisfy the craving.

Answer 5

Yes, it's fine. One REGULAR size cup (6 ounces is considered average), not a 24 ounce mega coffee from 7-Eleven. :) Just be sure to follow it up with a glass of water afterwards, to make up for the diuretic property of the caffeine.

Answer 6

1 cup a day won't hurt you. Although it is recommended that you shouldn't drink coffee because of the caffeine during pregnancy. I drank decaffeinated because I loved my coffee. To tell you the truth it didn't taste bad at all.

Answer 7

I drank 1 cup a day for my whole pregnancy. you will be fine, if you can stomach decaf I would suggest decaf. The reason they don't want you to drink too much coffee is because of caffeine!

Answer 8

I think it's okay, as long as you don't have more than one. I never drank coffee, but I did drink cokes, and I gave them up when I got pregnant, but would allow myself one each Sunday. But nurses even told me it wasn't necessary to give up caffeine totally, as long as I had it in moderation. In fact, for awhile I was having non-stress tests twice a week, the nurses would tell me to drink a soda about 30 mintues before I went in so my baby would be awake and active and I wouldn't have to stay strapped up to the machine so long.

Answer 9

Yes, one cup of coffee is okay as long as you aren't having a lot of other caffine. But I would definately concult your OB.
Good luck!

Answer 10

a little caffeine is okay, I think. When I was pregnant I would do half coffee and half hot water. I got my cup of coffee, but I didn't feel as guilty about it.