Caffeine intake of parents is linked to miscarriage
The caffeine intake of parents is linked to miscarriage, according to a new study from the National Institutes of Health.
Miscarriage risk may be increased when the mom or dad consumes more that two caffeinated drinks per day in the weeks leading up to the conception.
The risk of miscarriage may also increase if the mother drinks over two caffeinated drinks in the first seven weeks of pregnancy.
This is not the first study to show that caffeine intake of parents is linked to miscarriage. Previous research has done so, but this is the first study to suggest that the father’s caffeine intake may have a negative effect as well.
“Behaviors before pregnancy can impact pregnancy,” said said Janis Biermann, senior vice president for education and health promotion at the March of Dimes. “When you are planning a pregnancy, it’s a good time to get your body ready — reduce your consumption of caffeine, get to a healthy weight, don’t drink alcohol and see your doctor for a checkup.”
The study does fully confirm that caffeine causes miscarriages, but it does confirm an association, said lead author Katherine Sapra, a postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. “This is an observational study, so we can’t prove cause and effect, but we are confident of these findings,” she explained.
If you are planning on getting pregnant soon, and are planning to drink caffeinated beverages, “keep it to fewer than three a day,” Sapra said. Two cups of coffee is a “generous” amount, she added.
The March of Dimes recommends that women consume no more than 12 ounces of coffee a day, Biermann said.
The study showing that caffeine intake of parents is linked to miscarriage was published by the National Institutes of Health.
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REFERENCES:
1. “Caffeine Intake — Even Dad’s — Linked to Miscarriage, Study Says.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
2. “Couples’ Pre-pregnancy Caffeine Consumption Linked to Miscarriage Risk.” National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
3. “Maternal Caffeine Consumption during Pregnancy and the Risk of Miscarriage: A Prospective Cohort Study.” AJOG. Am J Obstet Gynecol, Mar. 2008. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
