Starbucks Loving Moms-To-Be: What You Must Know About Pregnancy And Caffeine
If you’re about to have a baby, you must have heard the warnings that pregnancy and caffeine should not be mixed. Advice is prevalent that says you should not drink coffee, or other products containing caffeine while you are pregnant.
But have you ever wondered if it would be ok to have just a little? Just a half-cup of coffee a day?
Let’s look into that. It is helpful to have solid facts, since talk around the water cooler could lead you to think that any caffeine at all will make you a baby killer. While others may feel the hype about caffeine’s dangers is just that, hype.
Firstly, it is definitely NOT hype, but having SOME caffeine is fine, if you know the amounts contained in the foods and drinks you prefer, and monitor the number of milligrams a day you are consuming.
The facts about pregnancy and caffeine, according to the Food and Drug administration are that moms to be should limit caffeine to about 200 – 300 mg a day. Notice, that is not an admonition against all caffeine. Two-hundred mg is about 22 Hershey’s milk chocolate bars, regular size, which are 9 mg each, or about 5.5 cans of 12 oz classic coke (they are 35 mg each).
The facts, broken down:
Research shows that there is an increased risk of miscarriage and low birth weight if more than 200 mgs of caffeine a day are consumed during pregnancy.
Excessive amounts of caffeine can increase the heart rate of the fetus, which could be fatal.
The first 4 months is when risk is greatest.
You can plan your daily allotment to be sure it doesn’t go over the maximum of 200 mg, if in the first four months of pregnancy. After that you should be ok with 300 mg a day, but check with your doctor as there may be things in your genetic or personal history that indicate you should have less or no caffeine both early in pregnancy and beyond.
Caffeine is found in low amounts – i.e. less than 70 mg – in the following items:
8 oz Sobe Essential Energy Drink – orange or berry = 48 mg
8 oz coffee ice cream or coffee frozen yogurt = 58 mg
Hershey’s chocolate bar – various types = 9 to 31 mg
Prepackaged ice tea (Snapple etc) 16 oz = 10 to 30 mg
Regular colas 12 oz = 20 to 50 mg
Mountain Dew 12 oz = 54 mg
2 tablets of Anacin = 64 mg
The following are among the highest in caffeine content:
Jolt Cola 12 oz = 72 mg
Lattes and other coffee drinks = 75 mg per shot of espresso.
2 tablets of Excedrin = 130 mg
One tablet of No Doz = 200 mg
The last, and absolutely the most caffeine is in brewed coffee. It has from 200 to 320 mg per 16 oz cup, with Starbucks being the highest.
If you still feel guilty about mixing pregnancy and caffeine, consider this: New research shows that people who drink coffee – 1 cup or more a day -- have less chance of getting cancer of the esophagus, mouth or pharynx, i.e. throat.