Coffee and Women's Health During Pregnancy & the
Child Bearing Years: What You Should Know!
If you are pregnant, planning on becoming pregnant, or suffering from premenstrual syndrome, you may find that quitting caffeine can greatly improve your health and well-being. Here are the top 7 reasons that kicking the coffee habit can protect your health and your baby.
- Caffeine Decreases a Woman’s Ability to Become Pregnant
- Caffeine Affects Fetal Development
- Coffee Interferes with Mineral Absorption
- Coffee Drinking Is Associated with an Irregular Heart Rate During Pregnancy
- Caffeine Affects Breastfeeding Babies
- Caffeine Increases Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS
- Caffeine Increases Breast Pain and Fibrocystic Breasts in Susceptible Women
Studies show that drinking caffeinated beverages can affect a woman’s ability to become pregnant. As little as a half a cup of coffee per day can cause miscarriages; in one study, 3 cups of coffee per day reduced women’s chances of getting pregnant by 26%!
Drinking caffeinated beverages during pregnancy can affect the development of the fetus. One of these effects is lower infant birth weight. Low infant birth weight is associated with an increased risk of birth defects and infant mortality. Infants born to women who consumed caffeine while pregnant have also been shown to sleep less and exhibit irritability, jitteriness and vomiting, due to caffeine withdrawal after birth.
The amount of time caffeine stays in the blood stream is tripled in the last two trimesters of pregnancy, which further intensifies the experience of infants’ caffeine withdrawal after birth. Drinking coffee during pregnancy is also shown to increase fetal breathing rates; this effect is seen even with consumption of decaffeinated coffee. It is recommended to eliminate caffeine during pregnancy to ensure optimal health for your baby.
Studies show that caffeine, along with other ingredients, found in coffee including decaf coffee can reduce iron availability up to 50%, which may contribute to iron deficiency anemia. Caffeine also interferes with your body’s ability to absorb calcium, magnesium and potassium. During pregnancy, these nutrients are absolutely essential to your fetus’ growth. In fact, drinking caffeine during pregnancy can cause babies to be born with weak bones because of poor calcium absorption. Caffeine consumption can also lead to future osteoporosis and inflamed gums for both you and your baby.
Cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat, can often occur during pregnancy. Studies suggest that coffee drinking is linked to an increased risk of developing cardiac arrhythmias. The amount of time that caffeine circulates in the blood stream before being detoxified in the liver of a pregnant woman is tripled in the last two trimesters. This further intensifies caffeine withdrawal symptoms in infants after birth. You can limit this risk by avoiding caffeine during pregnancy.
What a woman eats and drinks while breastfeeding influences her child’s health as substances pass from her bloodstream into her breast milk. Coffee consumed becomes part of the breast milk and it has been detected in breast milk even days after a woman has ingested it. A baby’s liver before the age of 6 months does not have enough liver enzyme capacity to detoxify caffeine efficiently and thus caffeine stays in a baby’s system for 80 to 100 hours in comparison to a typical adult who can process caffeine in 4-8 hours. Breastfeeding mothers would be wise to limit their consumption of caffeine.
Drinking caffeinated beverages, including coffee, may lead to a higher occurrence of premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Studies show the more caffeine you drink, the more symptoms you will experience. Some of these symptoms include anxiety, irritability, and depression. Decreasing your caffeine intake will help you to manage symptoms of PMS, improving your sense of well-being.
Studies show a link between caffeine consumption and fibrocystic breasts (non-cancerous lumps in the breast tissue). Recent research indicates that women with or without fibrocystic breasts who experience regular breast pain decreased or completely eliminated their pain by omitting caffeine from their diet. Quitting caffeine for pain relief is a great trade off for those women suffering from daily breast pain.