Caffeine intake increases pregnant women's miscarriage risk

Boozing more than two or three cups of coffee everyday may put pregnant women at an increased risk of miscarriage, a new US study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has found.

The study, involving 1,063 pregnant women in San Francisco, California, suggests that women in early pregnancy who consume caffeinated drinks equal to two or more cups of regular coffee a day had twice the risk of losing their baby compared to those who avoided caffeine altogether.

The researchers reach their findings after studying the Californian pregnant women, who all were members of the Kaiser Permanente health plan, for more than two years ending in October 1998.

After studying the detailed data provided by the study participants about their caffeine intake up to their 20th week of pregnancy, the lead author De-Kun Li, a Kaiser Permanente researcher in Oakland, California, and colleagues found that women who consumed 200 mg or more of coffee a day had twice the risk of miscarriage as women who avoided the stimulant entirely.

"Women who are pregnant or who are actively seeking to be pregnant should consider stopping drinking caffeine at least in the first three months and hopefully throughout the whole pregnancy," concluded Dr. Li.

The increased risk of miscarriage appeared to be linked to the caffeine itself, rather than other possible chemicals in coffee, as other caffeinated products such as caffeinated soda, tea and hot chocolate showed a similar increased risk of miscarriage in the study.

"This study strengthens the association between caffeine and miscarriage risk because it removes speculation that the association was due to reduced caffeine intake by healthy pregnant women," Dr. Li said.

Based on the findings, Dr. Li recommended that to be absolutely safe women who are pregnant or are trying to become pregnant should stop drinking coffee during the first five months or minimize the coffee intake throughout pregnancy.

Having a cup of coffee and getting up in the morning is a routine with most of the people. But some earlier studies have linked the coffee intake with the highest risk for a coronary heart disease, while some others have revealed that drinking coffee may protect people from Parkinson's disease.

A study by French researchers had revealed in last August that a daily dose of caffeine, the active ingredient in coffee, may help older women without dementia retain verbal-retrieval skills, delaying symptoms of mild forms of cognitive decline.

In the case of pregnant women, caffeine may be difficult for the fetus to metabolize, the researchers said. It also may decrease blood flow to the placenta, through which nutrients and oxygen in the mother's blood pass to the fetus for survival, and it may also affect the cell development, the researchers of the latest study concluded.