Study: Caffeine May Not Cause Sleeping Problems in Infants
From the archive. This post was first published on the original Green Eggs and Moms blog and is kept here as it was.
Are you a mom who loves caffeine? Here’s something to smile about.
A recent study found that a limited caffeine intake during and shortly after pregnancy may not cause sleeping problems in newborns.
Yep, you read right.
But the key here is moderation. Don’t go overboard with gulping down tea or coffee just yet since the effects of more than 300 mg of caffeine per day – about 12 ounces – is still unknown.
How’d they reach the findings?
Researchers from the Federal University of Pelotas, in Brazil, worked with 885 moms who answered questions about their caffeine habits and their babies’ sleeping patterns at 3 months of age.
Here’s what the answers revealed:
- 20% were heavy caffeine consumers during pregnancy (having at least 300 mg per day)
- 14% were heavy caffeine consumers 3 months after their child was born
- 14% said that their 3-month old baby woke more than thrice per night (the waking frequency reported by heavy caffeine drinkers was not statistically greater compared to those reported by the light consumers )
Wait! Before you psyche yourself up for the 300 mg limit per day…
Dr. Barth, former chairman of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and who was not part of the study, says that the 300 mg daily limit for breastfeeding moms is thought to be safe for healthy full-term babies.
The case may be different for preterm babies since they metabolize caffeine at a slower rate.
What does this mean? Preemies may react more to smaller doses of caffeine passed on during breastfeeding.
Now, you may be asking: Why is the limit 300 mg?
According to Modern Medicine, that’s because other studies have found that going over 300 mg during breastfeeding is associated with babies being fussy, jittery and having sleep problems.
So there you have it caffeine loving mama. A bit of coffee, tea or soda here and there may not cause sleeping problems in your baby. But don’t get your hopes up. You’re still far from getting 8 full hours of sleep.
Care to share your thoughts?