Drinking Caffeine During Pregnancy??

I have one cup of coffee in the morning and I will treat myself to a glass of iced tea or a soft drink at some point in the day. It is my well-read understanding that as long as you don't exceed 200mg of caffine in one days time you are okay. I am 32 weeks pregnant for baby #3.

Abstained from caffeine the first trimester, then drank one cup of coffee (8 oz.) each day going forward. Everything was fine :)

I've posted about this before... after my 1st was born, the hospital brought me my breakfast tray, with coffee. My eyes lit up; 'Can I really have this?' The nurse looked at me and said 'You haven't had coffee for 9 months?!' I said 'I didn't think I was supposed to!?'... She left laughing.

I asked my obgyn; you can have 2 cups of coffee per day. To be on the safe side, I switched to 'light coffee' (aka HALF CAFF, with 1/2 the caffeine), drank it through 2 more pregnancies and I still drink 1/2 caff to this day :)

Gave it up entirely with our first. After having him end up with ADHD despite everything I did to be healthy, decided what the heck with the second child and had a little bit of coffee when needed (not daily, but probably a couple times a week).

During my first pregnancy a study came out saying that moderate caffeine use actually HELPED prevent miscarriage. And my morning latte was one of the only things I could keep down in the morning for all of months 4 & 5. Then during my second, another study came out recommending no caffeine use at all. You can't win.
The best advice I received is that you should do what is generally healthy, which means, 1 cup of coffee is probably fine for anyone, and that coffee in excess is not healthy. Talk to your doctor. Unless you have any other conditions, your OB will probably urge you to maintain your sanity, not go overboard on cutting anything out completely, but to limit it.

I didn't even cut back. At the time, they cared not a whit, except for the sugar.

Caffeine in moderation is perfectly fine. My Ob doctor told me to drink a coke for my extreme nausea and morning sickness. I wouldn't drink a bunch a sodas or coffee or anything, but one a day (cup) or can is fine. Congrats!

M

I tried to not have any, but it didn't work! Maybe for the first trimester, I only had caffeine 3 days a week, but after that I went back to my normal cup of black tea in the morning every day, or every other day. I'm still breastfeeding, and have had 1-2 cups of black tea every day. I love it so much, I can't resist. And tea has way less caffeine than coffee, so my doctor said it was fine. I was told the same thing, 200 mg. So one cup of coffee per day, or for me, up to two cups of brewed black tea per day. (it has about 90 mg per cup). I don't think it's necessary to go without it, just cut back. :) congrats!

My daughter gave up caffeine when pregnant with her third. I don't remember about the first two pregnancies. The reason, as I understand it, is that the caffeine causes the baby's heart rate to increase. So many children are being diagnosed with ADD these days. I wonder if their prenatal environment has helped to cause it.

I suspect my daughter did have caffeine at least with her first pregnancy. My granddaughter has ADD. No way to know why. There are too many variables. My granddaughter was a high needs baby from the beginning. The third baby is mellow. No caffeine. Too many variables but yet, I would think it would be worth it to eliminate caffeine.

I'd at least do more research as you're doing now. I would look for scientific information, too.

My doctor said no more than 200 mg a day, and a can of coke has 55 mg. So I figured if I had one coke a day, I'd be okay, and I still don't drink that much, but when I go to restaurants, I get a soda and don't care about how many refills. My doctor preaches moderation. I could eat everything in moderation except sushi and shellfish. I have a shrimp allergy so I am not allowed to eat any shellfish. When I was about 30 weeks along and hooked up to the fetal monitor at the doctor's office, my daughter wasn't moving as much as they would of liked so they gave me the option of coke or dr. pepper. I went with coke and they said they actually prefer the dr. pepper to get the babies moving.

I drank caffeine with both of mine. I kept it under 200 mg per day (I think that's the current guideline). That's several cans of caffeinated soda or a few cups of coffee. I had no problems and neither did either of my children. Have a cup of coffee or a Coke or some tea -it's fine!

steer clear the first trimester and go 1/2 caff the rest

I cut back and had a Pepsi every day or every other day.

I have not had caffiene for years...o.k. minus a few sips here and there from hubby drinks and of course chocolate!!. I have had 3 kids since. I no longer handle caffiene well.

My "caffiene" is Vitamin D I was really, really low on it now I suppliment.

Caffiene here and there is fine...just don't drink 5 cups of coffee a day.

I used to be ADDICTED to Mt. Dew, but I had actually weened myself off it shortly before I found out I was pregnant...Well, in my second trimester, one day at work I started craving Mt. Dew, so I broke down and got one out of the vending machine. I barely made it through half the can before my son woke up and started doing jumping jacks in the womb! I swear I was bruised from the inside out, it made him so hyper!! However, as long as you don't have anything like that happen, I don't see anything wrong with having caffeine in moderation.

I cut back a bit, but still had my daily espresso. I didn't drink coffee at all with my first pregnancy (i actually didn't start drinking coffee until I became a mom, and really NEEDED it! ha). My older child didn't sleep through the night until I was 7 months pregnant with #2, and there is no way I could have made it through the days without a caffeine fix. Honestly, I've never heard of anyone actually having negative side effects from drinking caffeine while pregnant.

And Congratulations on your pregnancy!! That's so awesome! I'll bet Henry can't wait to be a big brother :)

I quit several things, while pregnant. My choice.

Anyway, like Riley J. below, my OB/GYN was more adamant...about cutting out sugar. And my OB/GYN, is a super strict Doc. The sugar reduction, was more crucial to him, than having a cup of coffee.

Is it the taste of coffee you miss, or the caffeine?

The first 3 months of pregnancy, is the most, cautious time.

I was told that the amount of caffeine in 1 cup of coffee, or 1 can of soda, per day, was okay. Because of feeling sick my stomach a lot, coffee did not even appeal to me, but some reason, Coke really helped and I craved it like crazy. So I limited myself to one a day, and I was fine - and so was the baby.

I'm sure I'm in the minority once again. I gave up caffeine while pregnant with my first. She'll be 9 Saturday so it has been almost 10 years without caffeine (with the exception of that found in chocolate or a frozen Coca Cola Icee every once in a blue moon). I figured why restart something I obviously could do without.

Good coffee to me is like fine wine to others. I really enjoy it and always have. I drank one to two cups almost every day during both my pregnancies with the green light from my doctor of course. My pregnancies were awesome and my girls are healthy. The interesting thing is my two year old who I do not give or let have coffee is obsessed with it. She snuck a taste of my iced coffee one day and now I have to hide it from her. We joke that we play coffee party not tea party.

I had a high risk pregnancy and my specialist said he'd rather I have my one (large) cup a day than the caffiene headache. I don't really think a little is going to do any harm. One of my friends followed all the rules with #1, then with #2 she drank coffee, ate sushi, etc. Both her kids were equally perfect at birth and beyond.

I too skipped the caffeine with baby 1. With baby 2, I needed it. I allowed myself one cup of tea and one diet Pepsi a day. Everything in moderation.