A new study confirms that caffeine affects a baby’s development if the mother drinks six cups of coffee a day during her pregnancy.
In the past, studies found that even low coffee consumption led to smaller babies at birth, but other research said the opposite. The same goes for the risk of miscarriage associated with caffeine.
A new study by the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, confirms that caffeine does affect a baby’s development.
Rachel Bakker and colleagues followed 7,346 Dutch women throughout their pregnancy primarily by using ultrasounds. Most women drank four cups of coffee a day, but 2-3% reported consuming six cups daily during their pregnancy. Among these women, it was noted that their babies were smaller at birth and also during their development in the womb. This confirms the effect of caffeine on the baby.
Bakker told Reuters Health in an email: "Caffeine intake seems to affect length growth of the fetus from the first trimester onwards."
According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, pregnant women should consume no more than six cups of coffee a day. There is still uncertainty, however, about the effects of smaller amounts of caffeine. Further studies will be conducted so researchers can attempt to measure the potential risk of miscarriage.