Researchers at the University of Queensland found that drinking coffee every day poses no risk to pregnancy, no matter how much. They talked about it in a magazine article. International Journal of Epidemiology.
According to WHO recommendations, pregnant women should consume less than 300 mg of caffeine per day – or no more than 2-3 cups of coffee. However, these recommendations are based on observational studies where it is difficult to distinguish coffee consumption from other risk factors.
Researchers analyzed the relationship between coffee consumption, pregnancy outcomes, and the genetic makeup of hundreds of thousands of women. Previously, it was already known that certain genetic factors influence whether a person drinks more or less coffee. Because pregnant women cannot be compelled to drink a certain amount of coffee throughout pregnancy and self-reports are not always accurate, conclusions about coffee consumption have been drawn based on the genetic profile.
It turns out that no caffeine consumed during pregnancy, even exceeding the norm, does not increase the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.
“When it comes to nutrition during pregnancy, women are often advised to remove certain foods from their diet, but this study shows that they can continue to drink coffee without worrying about the increased risk,” said the study’s authors.
However, only the most serious complications were considered in the study. It is possible for excess caffeine to affect other aspects of fetal development – this remains to be tested.