Is Decaf ok?

I more or less stopped drinking coffee when I fell pg, apart from the occasional one. Lately I have been drinking a cup of decaf in the mornings when I get to work - I just like the taste of coffee! Is there anything else wrong with coffee, or is it only the caffeine? In which case is it ok that I sometimes have two cups of decaf a day?

I drank decaf and it was fine :) I don't think there's any problems as far as I know!

*hugs*
Cailin

I drink full strength but only on the odd occassion. I never knew that coffee was a no no......opps!

Heh heh. Kim, I'm told that too much caffeine is linked to low birthweight and FTT.
It sounds like I shouldn't worry too much about it, though. My mum said that she drank heaps of coffee when she was pg with me and my brother and sister...

I've had 2 caffinated drinks a day approximately throughout this PG and with Matilda as well. She was almost 9lb when born and this baby isn't much smaller ;)

I think they only tell you to cut down if you have more than three non-decaffinated coffee's a day..... I generally have about one coffee per day and a glass of coke as well

I don't know what the procedure is like to make it decaf. I've heard that a lot of chemicals are involved. I've been only having the odd decaf for that reason. I do miss the coffee! I know with me that caffeine affects me quite badly, I got a faster heartbeat. I don't think this would be good for bubba and I've heard drinking alot of coffee increases the risk of miscarriage?

Decaff is allowed. Some caffeine is OK, I think it's something like 2 cups of coffee a day, 3 cups of tea OR 600g of chocolate - or a mix of them all.

About 20 years ago there was no coffee restriction, so we're all caffeine'd up babies anyway... like all else, it's just a case of moderation.

sweetpeajan, thats exactly what the midwives told me at the hospital, that there were so many chemicals used to decafinate the coffee that it was just as bad as having a caffinated beverage. I did go out & find that certain coffee's have more or less caffine in them, and I found 1-2 organic decafinated blends that I could tolerate. I *think* that Gloria Jeans medium roast beans actually have a very low caffine count, which is why that is what we drink when I am pregnant & breastfeeding.

I was having a cup or 2 of organic decaf (beans) until I couldn't stomach it anymore due to heartburn. It's instant coffee, both full strength and 'unleaded' that uses nasty chemical to get it to dissolve. I think they're now more worried about all the caffeinated 'soft' drinks like red bull, V etc as they have stacks more caffeine than coffee.

Caffeine is said to increase the risk of very early miscarriage as it is suggested that high levels of caffeine (ie 6 cups of coffee a day) can inhibit sucessful impalntation into the uterine wall.......but that is only in very early pregnancy.

So if you want to give up caffeine for the good of your health/baby, it would be best to give up/cut down whilst you are TTC.

Hello, do they still sell HAG instant coffee? I drank that -sometimes- when PG with DD, because they use some filtered water process to decaffeinate it and not the chemicals.

:-)

HAG instant coffee?! Wow, somebody needs to rethink that marketing strategy!
Oo, I like the sound of that Gloria Jeans, Christy.

Hadn't heard about low birth weight linked to caffeine, but definately read that caffeine can increase the risk of m/c.

I found out that Vittoria have a decaf coffee that is chemical free. I don't think it's available in all supermarkets though. I've tried it, it tastes pretty average but it's better than nothing :)

I've switched to decaf but I only have the 1 coffee a day (in the morning). So I probably didn't really need to switch.
I also buy caffiene-free diet coke or pepsi. I'm normally a pepsi-max drinker so the caffiene free is a nice compromise.

With the chemicals, it depends on the decaffination process they use - it is a common misconception that all decaffinated coffe uses chemicals and is therefore bad for you. What you need to look for is that they use the "Swiss water decaffination method" - it will state on the coffee somewhere if they use this method. There are some very good organic, fair-trade, rainforest-friendly, swiss-water-decaffinated coffees out there that taste really good - for those in Sydney, I like Toby's Estate "Cascadia" which you can buy whole bean or ground to your liking. (sorry, I am a bit of a "coffee snob")

Thanks sportychick. Where can I find this brand of coffee?