Coffee??

[AliciaK]

I am unsure where to put this, or if it has been answered before but...
I have just found out I'm pregnant (4wks) and I would really like to know - can I have my morning coffee?? I have one coffee each day, which I make in an espresso machine at home, with soy milk. Is it ok to keep this up or should I drop it now that I know I am pregnant?? Any help is appreciated, as I know I can give it up if I have to, but I do love that morning coffee
Cheers
Al

[~Belinda~]

Hi Alicia, I remember asking the same question! I loved my morning coffee too and still enjoy my morning one but choose DECAF instead, I can't taste the difference now. I did have headaches the first week when I switched to decaf though so I must have had withdrawal symptoms! I've been doing it right through my pregnancy and I'm ok

[Alan]

Hi Alicia
1 cup of coffee a day will be fine

[~Belinda~]

Alan, phewww, I've been having one for yonks now!

[AliciaK]

Thank you - Alan, is normal coffee ok or is it best to have decaf???
I didn't have coffee this morning and feeling ok (apart the sick feeling in my stomach!!) so I shouldn't have too many withdrawal symptoms if I give up totally

[Alan]

Mads You are correct. 1 cup of real coffee a day will not do any harm

[Beth]

Heheh... I have survived almost two months of no coffee at all... it has been SO hard, cos I love it so much.
Today I had a decaf cappuccino and nearly cried with delight. I feared it would be dull compared to normal coffee, but it's really okay.
So that's nice.
I'm now interested in how they take the caffiene out of coffee! I might go look that up!

[~Belinda~]

Yes I agree! I don't even notice any difference with decaf and real coffee. Therefore, I would rather have no caffeine during my pregnancy because I can't taste the difference anyway so it's no big deal!! I bet there are people out there though that can tell! I'm not one of them lol

[AliciaK]

I never had decaf (didn't see the point until now) and I just like "my" coffee as I buy normal coffee and mix in a small amount of flavoured beans (vanilla)... so you get the taste of vanilla - Love it, and when I got to MIL she does the same thing with caramel beans. I haven't found the flavour in decaf so thats why my question!!!
So thanks for the info - I probably won't have one everyday, but at least I know that occassionaly won't hurt

[satya]

You have to be careful with having espresso coffee when pregnant as it can be way stronger than having a cup of instant coffee which in turn will give you a lot more caffeine than you should have.

There has been a lot of debate over the possibility of caffeine causing miscarriages and as far as I know the jury is still out. The latest article I read on it suggested less than 200mg of caffeine per day in the first trimester (as this is the highest risk period for miscarriage). Depending on the strength of your coffee it could be two cups of coffee or even only one. You would have to check the packaging of your coffee.

Another study I read said that just one cup of coffee a day increases your risk of m/c by 30% so having suffered 3 m/c's in my lifetime (whilst having no coffee at all and I didn't miss it) I would say it's not worth the risk.

One theory is that it is is the chemicals in coffee that can cause m/c not the caffeine itself as excess tea drinking in recent studies has not appeared to cause m/c even though it still contains caffeine.

[~Belinda~]

Good information Satya, I must admit, the first 12 weeks I had no coffee at all (when everything was developing) then just one a day (decaf) after that, some days nothing.

[Nelle]

Crikey, I'm so tired in the first trimester, coffee's fantastic! I'm not a huge caffeine drinker, but some days a cup's been brilliant for me. Do Italians (they're the coffee drinkers right?) give up coffee during pregnancy?

My midwives said it was okay, I was having one coke slurpee a day by the end of my pregnancy! Not sure how much caffeine's in that though..

[Roryrory]

1 cup of real coffee a day will not do any harm

Phew!

I didn't drink coffee during my first pg (well, I think I had 3 the whole time) but during this pg I needed coffee to get through the day in the first tri especially (got pg when DS was 9 months old, deliberately! but I was working 3 days a week so it was a struggle!) and have sort of kept doing it. So I have 3 real coffees a week (from a machine) but I have been wracked with guilt over it because I am stressing that maybe it will make my baby less settled than DS was. Crazy I know, but that's just how you worry when pg. Thanks Alan, for the reassurance

[AliciaK]

Thanks for all the info - I think it won't be a regular thing, just every so often.... like this morning, I was so tried that I felt I need one with breakfast, but that used up the last of it in the house so it will be a while before I have another Not having in the house is probably the best thing - then I am not tempted ..LOL