Massive Amounts of Coffee in the First Few Weeks of Pregnancy?

I drank lots of coffee all the way through my pregnancy with my twins. There were no complications, I was never put on bed rest, my children were born healthy, and they are extremely smart. The only "side effect", if you will, is that my twins Love Coffee too :)

From what I have read, in the very beginning, it's realy an all or nothing kind of thing. If you didn't lose the baby the chances are pretty good that everything will be ok. Lots of women don't know they are pregnant, I mean, 1/2 of all pregnancies, if not more are unplanned. I had some drinks, smoked a cigarette and even took antibiotics. My son is fine.

What do you mean "what happens?" Nothing "happens." You've probably elevated your blood pressure a bit, though. Coffee is also a diuretic and laxative. It can also make you retain water and feel bloated. So you would need to drink plenty of water and make sure you're hydrated.

But if you did this without knowing you were pregnant you've got nothing to feel guilty about. When you're pregnant and don't know it and you're eating and drinking things that are not recommended, well, that's kind of what you have a placenta for.

Now that you know you're pregnant you can cut back your coffee (or rather your CAFFEINE) to 200 mg or less of caffeine content per day. If you drink coffee for the flavor, then start drinking decaf. If you need "some" caffeine, start drinking half-caf. Learn to moderate and keep track of the mg of caffeine.

That 200 mg would include sodas/colas too, by the way. And chocolate.

Most likely nothing will happen. With my first son, I found out I was pregnant about a week after I was at a party where I drank 4 glasses of wine. With my second, I found out I was pregnant right after a week long vacation during which I drank coffee (3 cups) every morning and cocktails (2-3) every night. I have 2 beautiful, healthy kiddos.

Well, you know, there are no real guarantees in life. I can tell you that I craved Code Blue Slurpees from 7-11 in my first trimester before I realized they were Mountain Dew! LOL

Usually; nothing.

The caffeine thing is fairly new. Women drank pots and pots of coffee while pregnant just a few years ago. The 'no coffee' thing is more about maternal health than fetal health. As in trying to lower maternal blood pressure.

I did that through all three of my pregnancies unknowingly. My first signs of being pregnant was actually getting sick from coffee. My concerns were the same as yours. I used to toast, grind and brew my own french press every day, thats 3 or 4 cups of very strong coffee!

From what ive read the beginning stages of pregnancy are so delicate that they are fiercely protected by the body. You will be fine. Lay off of caffeine through the rest of your first trimester and allow yourself only 1 half caff a day during your second.

Not trying to sound 'flip' but think about all the people who use drugs/alcohol etc and turn out to have healthy babies. I think if you can make the change now then you should be ok.

You cannot change what has already happened. The stress on your body from worrying about it will probably do more harm.

I have 4 kids and before I knew I was pregnant with each one of them I had cocktails, HUGE amounts of coffee and even with the first two I was a smoker so add that to the mix. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I quit everything that could be potentially harmful and all of them turned out perfect, not a single problem.

Of course, you are supposed to be good before you ever get pregnant just in case, but things happen and you can't change it after.

You are fine I am sure, just be good from here on out. Look out for the caffeine headache though, that was the worst part for me.

Enjoy!

I believe caffeine has been associated with miscarriage, but I don't think the association is strong. Before getting pregnant I drank 1-2 cups per day. I stopped when I learned I was pregnant mainly because I did not want to take a chance, even if it was a very small chance. I think 1-2 cups per day is considered "safe" during pregnancy, so if you can at least cut down now, that would be great because "a lot a lot" of almost anything is not good for you much less a developing fetus. Moderation my friend ;) Good luck!

That's probably fine. Until the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall, there's no blood exchanged. I was told by a genetic counselor that it's a couple weeks before this occurs, so coffee and even alcohol are not a real problem very early.

Come on. you know better. Just don't drink more than the darn.... recommended dose.

I drank a lot the first 6 weeks because I didn't know I was pregnant.
My normal day was a starbucks triple shot in the morning, Maybe 1-3 cups of hot coffee in the afternoon, and a double shot on the way home. If I am at home all day, I could seriously down a few pots.
Later on in the last part of the second trimester I was OK'ed to get a frap a day, but my OBGYN made me promise no extra shots. Everything turned out ok.

Have you had an ultrasound to see the baby since then? Have you heard the heartbeat? How far along are you now? I wouldnt stress about it, especially since this is something that you really cant do anything about. Also I agree with Sunnysm0m that ppl manage to have healthy babies while addicted to drugs so I think caffeine is probably okay. Its not nearly as bad as smoking or drinking while pregnant so try to relax and enjoy your pregnancy
Good Luck and Congrats

According to research collected by the March of Dimes, heavy caffeine intake can cause fertility problems and increases the chance of miscarriage or stillbirth. It may decrease blood flow to the fetus, which may have some harmful effect on development and birth weight.

The effects are statistical, and the whole picture is apparently not known. Many babies are apparently not measurably harmed. But because so much is unknown, it's wise to keep caffeine consumption moderate. This would include all sources, which can include some soft drinks and chocolate.

Riley J, and any others, that say caffeine does not affect the baby are wrong! Caffeine crosses the placenta. Therefore, large amounts of caffeine could affect babies in the same way as it does adults. Some reports have stated that children born to mothers who consumed more than 500mg/day were more likely to have faster heart rates, tremors,
increased breathing rate, and spend more time awake in the days following birth.
And this is NOT new information. I avoided caffeine 19 years ago with my first pregnancy. Another no-no that people seem to not realize - soda - Drinking large amounts of carbonated drinks begins to deplete your body's calcium reserves. When coupled with your unborn baby's calcium needs, this can contribute to decreasing bone density and predispose you to diseases like osteoporosis.
Now, if you didn't know, don't worry about it. Just move forward without the caffeine or soda. Don't freak out or worry about it. I'm sure if it's eliminated now, you'll be fine.
For my first two pregnancies, people mocked me for avoiding caffeine telling me women drank tea and coffee for centuries while pregnant. With my third pregnancy, they sent me for a high-res full color 3-D ultrasound of her heart to make sure she had no heart disease (it ran in my family & I was over 35). The Dr showed me the little flap that leads to her heart and tells me he's pleased I'm not drinking caffeine. He says if I had been drinking caffeine, the little flap would be wildly and rapidly flapping back and forth causing the blood flow to back up instead of flowing properly to the heart. When this happens it can affect the babies heart rate and development. THAT did it for me!!! No caffeine NO matter what anyone said!!!!! LOL

YOu'll be fine....Cut back a bit now. I drank a ton too because I didn't know I was pregnant...Not only that but I had tons of coffee in the a.m. and Mountain dew in the afternoon. LOL! Congrats btw.

Nothing. I was downing red bulls like water with my first before I knew I was pregnant and she's completely fine.. the doc told me not to worry at all our bodies are pretty great at protecting those little ones in there.

And there are studies that say things CAN happen, not that they've ever been really proven otherwise they'd be beating into you (like alcohol) to not have caffeine at all. Just saying..

Try to relax about it til you see the doc, ask the doc about it. Forget what anyone here says until your 1st appt.

Really, you might've, uh, over-consumed WAY worse things!

Congratulations!

:)

You'll both be fine. Just cut way way back now. Pregnant women do a lot of things before the find out they are pregnant! We found out we were pregnant with baby #1 the day after attending a weekend wine festival. He's just fine!