Insparenting

Well, some people, including women, feel that they couldn’t start the day without a cup of coffee.

But, if you are pregnant, is drinking coffee safe for you? Well, there have been some studies about coffee and pregnancy.

They say that the high intake of caffeine can lead to the risk of miscarriage and low birth weight in babies. Thus, it is recommended that pregnant women avoid caffeine/coffee in their diets.

Not only it leads to the negative results previously mentioned but it also disrupts the absorption of iron and calcium, which are absolutely needed by pregnant women’s body.

Pregnant women need iron to prevent them from getting anemia. In the meantime, even a higher amount of calcium is needed to prevent a calcium loss in their bones (because the baby needs a great amount of calcium as well).

Caffeine works as a stimulant. It can increase your heart rate, cause insomnia, headaches, and nervousness. Moreover, caffeine can make you pee frequently. This would not be good for pregnant women as they can get dehydrated easily.

So, how much coffee is safe?
The moderate amount of coffee per day is 300mg - it’s the equivalent of about three cups a day.

However, it’s wise to reduce the amount of caffeine intake if you can. You should also remember that caffeine does not only contain in coffee but also in tea, chocolate, and soft-drinks.

Why not forget coffee for a while (hopefully you can) and change your diet into a healthier one? Fresh fruits and vegetables are very good and important for your body. Moreover, fruit juice and soy milk are definitely good options to change the coffee habit during your pregnancy.

Keep in mind that you are not only feeding yourself but also your baby!

This entry was posted on Monday, October 30th, 2006 at 3:36 am and is filed under Parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.