Women are being advised to cut out caffeine during the first three months of pregnancy to help reduce their risk of having a miscarriage.
The warning follows a study that found pregnant women who consumed two or more mugs of coffee a day were twice as likely to miscarry as those who abstained from caffeine completely.
The study of 1,063 pregnant women showed that those who had at least 200mg of caffeine each day had a 25 percent risk of miscarriage compared with a 12 percent risk for women who avoided all caffeine, including in tea, soft drinks and chocolate.
"It appears that 200mg a day is already a high enough dose to increase the risk of miscarriage," said De-Kun Li, a perinatal epidemiologist who led the study at Kaiser Permanente, a California-based non-profit health foundation that runs 32 hospitals and is one of the US' largest private health organizations.
He advised women to consider not consuming caffeine or at least limiting their intake to less than 200mg during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The women were asked what they had eaten and drunk until the 20th week of gestation: 635 had up to 200mg a day; 164 women had 200mg or more daily; and 264 had none.
The doctors accounted for other factors known to affect miscarriage rates, including age, income, a history of miscarriages, smoking and alcohol consumption.
Overall, 172 women miscarried, 95 percent within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The results suggested that even moderate amounts of caffeine increased the risk, but this was only confirmed in women who consumed 200mg or more a day. It made no difference whether the caffeine came from coffee, tea, chocolate or soda.
Li called on doctors to encourage patients to reduce or give up caffeine during early pregnancy.
It is unclear why caffeine should affect early pregnancy, although it is known that pregnant women take longer to process caffeine and it can cross the placenta into a baby's bloodstream.
Li's study, in the current online issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, accounted for this "pregnancy-related caffeine aversion" -- which Li said had hampered previous studies -- by following women who did not change their drinking habits.
High levels of caffeine have previously been linked to increased risk of premature birth and small babies.
But a Danish study last year found no difference where mothers had drunk only moderate amounts of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
Tracy Flanagan, director of women's health at Kaiser Permanente in northern California, advised pregnant women to consider switching to decaffeinated drinks, and natural energy boosts, such as a brisk walk, yoga or dried fruit.
SPEAKING OUT: After Siranudh Scott’s allegations surfaced, celebrities and public figures took to social media to share their own experiences of sexual misconduct and abuse A high-profile alleged sexual abuse case within a wealthy Thai beer brewing family has prompted a wave of painful accounts from survivors of unconnected abuse in the conservative nation. Siranudh Scott, a member of the billionaire Thai family that founded the ubiquitous Singha beer brand, posted an emotional video this month accusing his elder brother Sunit of repeatedly abusing him when he was a teenager. Sunit, who is in his 30s, later denied the allegations in a video posted online, but Singha parent Boonrawd dismissed him from his executive role with the company on Tuesday last week. “I felt I needed to speak
SEEKING ORDER: Rodrigo Paz said that ‘anyone who wants to destroy the nation will have to deal with this president and the full force of the constitution’ Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday said that the nation was at a “breaking point” after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Paz, who took office six months ago amid the worst economic crisis there in four decades, is battling a groundswell of fury over his policies. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority calling for his resignation. “The country needs order and is reaching breaking point,” the 58-year-old said at a public event in La Paz, renewing his appeal for dialogue. On Tuesday, the Bolivian
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
Forecasters in Europe yesterday warned of exceptional heat as record temperatures driven by a “heat dome” push temperatures well above seasonal norms across the continent. The surge follows a record-breaking Monday, with France logging its hottest day in the month of May on record, its weather agency said, and the UK also posting unprecedented highs. A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer. Restrictions on outdoor work were imposed in parts of Italy, beaches in southwest France filled earlier than usual and
RSS