IT鈥橲 bad news for tired mothers-to-be. The long-running controversy about whether drinking coffee increases the chance of miscarriage may have been laid to rest: it does.
Several studies have linked caffeine to higher rates of miscarriage, but critics said the results could be skewed by women with healthy pregnancies reducing their caffeine intake because of morning sickness.
De-Kun Li at California-based health insurer Kaiser Permanente interviewed 1063 women early in their pregnancies about their caffeine consumption, looking at both those who changed their drinking patterns and those who didn鈥檛. All women were followed to 20 weeks of pregnancy or until miscarriage.
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Consumption of 200 milligrams or more of caffeine per day 鈥� equivalent to just over one cup of coffee 鈥� was associated with a more than twofold increase in miscarriage. Caffeinated fizzy drinks, tea and hot chocolate all showed the same effect ().
Li believes that caffeine, which constricts blood vessels, may be restricting blood flow to the placenta. Alternatively, it may have a toxic effect on the fetus. He says women should try to forgo all caffeine during pregnancy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a big sacrifice.鈥�
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