Pregnancy: Morning Joe or No?

CAFFEINE! It’s something that the majority of our population relies on for staying alert and to keep going throughout the day.  Suddenly, you find out you’re pregnant: what to do?

Most experts say that 1 cup of coffee each day is ok – but drink responsibly!

Here are the risks:

• Caffeine slightly increases your blood pressure and heart rate.
• It is a stimulant and it can cross over the placenta to the baby.
• Some studies have shown that it can increase your baby’s heart rate and affect his/her breathing patterns.
• But do these things hurt that baby?  The answer is unclear.
• Some studies have linked high caffeine consumption with: higher risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, and other problems.

Bottom line limit your caffeine consumption to 200 mg/day.

Here are some examples:

• Tall Starbucks coffee: 250 mg
• Grande Starbucks iced coffee: 190 mg
• 8 oz generic brewed coffee: 95 mg
• Grande Starbucks cappuccino: 150 mg
• Grande Starbucks Tazo Green Tea Latte: 80 mg
• 8 oz brewed black tea: 47 mg
• 12 oz Mountain Dew: 71 mg
• 12 oz Diet Coke: 47 mg
• 12 oz Pepsi: 38 mg
• 12 oz Coke: 35 mg

Skip all Energy Drinks!  These are usually loaded with caffeine.  Also be mindful of chocolate which contains caffeine.

My recommendations:

• If you can’t live without your morning cup of joe, always choose the smallest size and only have one each day!
• If you can tolerate half caf/half decaf that’s a great option too.
• For those who can try switching over to decaf.
• When it comes to tea, stick with decaf if you are drinking a cup of coffee in the morning.  If you don’t drink coffee or are drinking decaf you can have a cup of caffeinated tea but be mindful of how much you sip throughout the day.

How I’ve Handled Caffeine:

• When we first started trying to get pregnant, I decided to cut back on my caffeine consumption (we make strong french press coffee).  So I made myself half caf/half decaf.
• Once I become pregnant the half caf/half decaf made me sort of nauseous and I had no taste for coffee!  I slowly gave it up.
• Now it doesn’t make me nauseous anymore, and I really enjoy coffee so I save it for when I’m really in the mood and get a decaf misto from Starbucks (if I’m really tired sometimes I tell them to use a little caffeinated coffee with most decaf).  Or I get a decaf latte to help fulfill my calcium needs for the day.

Did you give up caffeine during your pregnancy?