What could be so important that I’ve stopped you from gulping down your coffee?
Independent.ie warns that drinking commercially prepared coffee may be dangerous for pregnant or breastfeeding moms because they don’t reflect caffeine information.
Professor Mike Lean, who heads human nutrition in Glasgow University, surveyed coffee shops in the Glasgow area. The results? He found that caffeine levels per cup ranged anywhere from 51 mg to 322 mg.
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How does this affect pregnant or breastfeeding moms?
You can still have coffee as long as it doesn’t exceed the recommended daily limit of 300 mg. However, it may be challenging to monitor your intake since coffee shops don’t include nutritional labels with their products.
So, if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you may want to keep this in mind before heading to Starbucks.
One last thing before you resume drinking coffee…
Another warning: A post I wrote back in April mentioned that the 300 mg daily limit is thought to be safe for healthy full-term babies, but not for pre-term babies.
Why? Because preemies metabolize caffeine slower which means they react more to smaller doses, compared to their full-term counterparts. (You can read that post here.)
Again, this is just something to be aware of, especially if you’re meticulously monitoring caffeine intake, and have a pre-term kiddo.
Care to share your thoughts?
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Good post! I did drink coffee with my last 2 pregnancies but it was decaffinated, and I might have had 3 cups a week if that. I also had hot tea decaffinated about 3 cups a week also.
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Glad you liked this, Pamela! I’m not much of a coffee drinker so I didn’t drink any at all while pregnant.
This made me think about my coffee intake since I am breastfeeding. Does “healthy coffee” count? The ones with ganaderm, etc?
I read somewhere that if one wants to have caffeine-free coffee, rice coffee would be a good choice. I think it’s selling in Echo Store.
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Well it depends on the caffeine content of those products and how much you drink. If they have nutritional labels, then you can keep track of your daily caffeine intake.
When I was pregnant with my second child, I had hormonal migraines weekly. When I told my OBGYN, she offered my Tylenol with Codeine. Really? And here I thought we had to avoid feta cheese and tuna fish! I said no thank you, so she said I could drink up to two cups of coffee for the caffeine…which to me felt equally excessive. Of course, I naturally have a lot of energy so I avoid caffeine (in order to protect others-I talk A LOT) and couldn’t imagine my baby on it! Great information Anne!
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Is Tylenol really safe for unborn babies? And Lynn, I laughed when you said you were talkative. I can’t imagine!
I think it’s safe to have your coffee, and drink it too as long as you don’t overdo it. So no triple espresso, but a normal cup of coffee.
I feel the ‘experts’ are always finding stuff out, and then go out to scare women witless.
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Agree with you on not overdoing coffee! I think the point of the study is to help moms “quantify” how much “a lot” or “a cup” is so they know when to stop drinking. Thanks for your comment
I didn’t drink coffee with my first, was a stickler to the “rules” of moderation with caffeine.
But with my second, I drank and continue to drink it and even get coffee shop kinds a few times a month. He’s been fine, in fact he’s the more calmer child. haha
I do think drinking TONS of espresso all day isn’t healthy for anyone though.
If I did have a preemie I might be a bit more of a stickler again in this case. You have to be so careful with those little ones.
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I’ve read a few studies about preemies and because of their early exit, they’re usually more susceptible to other things full-term babies aren’t.
Anne, I’m going to show this post to my daughter in law who is breast feeding! Thanks so much for sharing!
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You are welcome, Erin!
Thank you for always dropping by here… I really do appreciate your comments and shares. Hugs to you!
I switched to hot choco back when I was pregnant with Yue. But I just missed the scent and the taste of coffee too much, so I took decaf instead. Not as fulfilling as regular coffee, but it was better than not having coffee at all.
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Yes decaf is probably better than no coffee at all. But I’m a chocolate person so… I’d take hot choco over coffee any day!
Wow! This is something I definitely hadn’t thought about. As I sip my Starbucks, glad I’m not nursing or prego but I’ll be sure and keep this great tip in mind for my friends. Thanks!
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Shannon, I can almost hear you actually saying your comment. It’s actually an important study because it forces you to quantify how much caffeine each cup of coffee really is. Didn’t think of this either.
lol, Anne, isn’t it funny how we hear our friend’s voices in our heads when we read their words?
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It makes things more interesting, doesn’t it? It also helps that I’ve heard your voice several times.
When I was pregnant, I avoided anything that seemed “risky” to consume. And I enjoyed plenty of cups of hot chocolate!
Thanks for sharing,
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You are always welcome!
i also was very careful with my first as it was a big NO all around. but with my second pregnancy there was a lot about it being pretty harmless unless you drank way too much caffeine of course. so i was much more relaxed with my twin pregnancy while still being moderate about everything. now with breastfeeding, i was nursing twins and i needed coffee. i drank what i wanted in order to stay sane ; ) they were always wonderful sleepers too!
Moderation is really the key. Wow, I can’t imagine having to breastfeed twins. I’m guessing they feed at different times, right?
haha, i nursed them separately at first in effort to get some one on one time with them. it felt really important. but as they got older i did tandem nursing! they both nursed till two. a doctor i saw in the very beginning told me “most moms of twins can’t nurse them that long” when i told him i nursed and plan to do so until they were around two. so, of course i had to prove him wrong. maybe they choose not to or had other reasons that made it difficult but it’s totally possible ; )
It can be challenging to nurse when you go back to work. That’s when my milk supply started dwindling then just completely dried up
I guess it’s better to totally avoid it during pregnancy if one can make that sacrifice for a few months. I do know some get nasty headaches when they stop taking in caffeine. Switching to decaf would probably be better and skipping those coffee shops for a while.
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Hi Aileen! How have you been? Really?! Some people get headaches when they stop drinking coffee? That can’t be good.