Cut out coffee to minimise risk of losing baby: Docs

‘‘Women attempting to conceive may benefit from eliminating caffeine intake during preconception and early pregnancy.’’ abstract of US National Institutes of Health paper

Women who are trying to conceive or are pregnant, particularly during the first eight weeks, should cut out caffeine entirely to minimise the risk of losing their baby, according to research to be presented this week.

Guidelines from the UK’s National Health Service and in the US recommend pregnant women limit the caffeine they drink to 200 milligrams a day, equivalent to two mugs of instant coffee.

Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health will present a study to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s (ASRM) congress in Philadelphia arguing that even this is too much and that caffeine should be ‘‘eliminated’’ entirely.

The team found: ‘‘Any level of caffeine intake during pregnancy may increase risk of pregnancy loss, particularly in the first eight weeks’ gestation. Women attempting to conceive may benefit from eliminating caffeine intake during pre-conception and early pregnancy.’’ The researchers went back to a 2014 study that looked at the effects of aspirin during pregnancy.

Participants in that trial, made up of 1228 women attempting to get pregnant between 2007 and 2011, were asked to report how much caffeine and alcohol they drank, as well as how much they smoked. Levels of caffeine in their blood were also measured.

The study looked at the rate of pregnancy loss among these women, to examine a possible link between caffeine intake and loss of pregnancy.

An abstract of the paper to be presented this week reports: ‘‘Preconception intake of two or more caffeinated beverages – coffee, tea or soda – was associated with risk of pregnancy loss. The researchers concluded women considering pregnancy could benefit from eliminating caffeine intake.’’–