Can I Drink Coffee While Pregnant?

Introduction

We all love coffee. It’s our daily energy punch, happy-juice or just a nice time steaming off while drinking coffee. Just because we drink it daily, sometimes we wonder what’s it doing to our organism. How much coffee is too much, how often is too often, when is the best time to consume this drink? All these questions have been answered by scientists because this drink is one of the most popular out there. You can find out what it does to your body chemically, you can explore multiple coffee variations, you can see what machinery the big names use, and so on.

But there is one question that is for sure of great value, and it is about drinking coffee while pregnant. Is coffee okay during pregnancy?

To answer this question right away, it is okay to drink coffee, but continue reading, because we will go in-depth analyzing what is the best option for you and your baby.

Now, you have to have in mind that although we are all the same in the biological sense, coffee can be different for a lot of people. It depends on the caffeine percentage in the coffee itself, time of brewing, method of preparing, etc. You have to have in mind that pregnant women are especially sensitive to certain things, so they have to avoid certain foods and drinks. The best solution for pregnant women is decaffeinated coffee.

So, now that you know, what is the best decaf coffee for pregnancy? You should consume only this one because one study was held and the results that it came with were pretty clear. Pregnant women who drank decaf coffee did not experience any problems nor did their babies. Even though there is no exact evidence that normal coffee causes some problems to women’s pregnancy, the decaf version is 100% in the clear.

Decaf coffee at pregnancy by NHS

So the National Health Service, or NHS for short, again, has kind of confusing researches. They advised pregnant women to limit their caffeine consumption to around 2 cups a day, which is somewhere around 200mg of caffeine.

Decaf coffee and pregnancy Mayo clinic

Checking the Mayo clinic site is one of the most practical and easiest ways to see what is good for you and what’s not. Here, however, they recommend avoiding caffeine. So once we conclude that there is no right or wrong answer here (if we’re talking about coffee or decaf coffee). Here you can check what meat is good for you, how much fat should be contained in your diet, what drinks should you avoid and many more. If you’re not feeling up for the walk to your pregnancy consultant than just check the internet website of Mayo Clinic and you have a lot of trust-worthy information there.

So basically, even with decaf coffee, some women are skeptical. Just follow us here, there will be many yes then no instructions, but it’s only because there are a lot of us with a lot of different reactions to certain products. Decaffeinating coffee is a process invented in 1979, and it requires a few steps. So decaf coffee chemicals while being pregnant can scare some women because Ethyl Acetate is one of the chemicals that’s used in this process. So, is it safe to drink? How much decaf coffee can you drink?

The key is, like with any other thing, taking it in moderation cannot hurt you or anyone else. Be responsible, think of your life, and most importantly, of your child’s life, and always try to push to the limits, having your child’s future health as motivation.

If you had no coffee for the first trimester, we would advise that you hold on for an additional eight, no matter how hard or undoable that sounds. But, again, if you are a daily coffee consumer, and now you made it with no coffee to this point, it’s more than likely out of your habit, so just continue what you’re doing. But what does decaf coffee do while pregnant second trimester, or even third trimester? While your baby is forming, you have to know that if you drink coffee, it’s going to affect the baby as well, and the baby can’t process and break down those chemicals efficiently. You can feel sick sometimes, and not only if you’re pregnant, but because coffee produces stomach acid when you drink it, so yea, it can cause an issue or two. But you don’t need those when you already have one major concern, don’t you? Not only that, but coffee is a stimulant, so it can cause insomnia, which can be bad as well. We can say that coffee during pregnancy third trimester has the biggest chance of messing something up, so you should avoid it, even though some people will tell you it’s safe. Maybe it is for them, but this is not the time to be experimenting on yourself. Maybe the best option for pregnancy is decaf green tea. It’s mellow and subtle flavor is great for relaxing your body and creating a quiet moment for you to enjoy, just like coffee!

So how does decaf coffee affect you when you’re pregnant?

Maybe if you’ve just found out that you have a baby, it’s in its early stage, so you could go for those decaf lattes and such. Decaf espresso should also be pretty safe in this early stage, in moderation of course.

On the side note, now that your baby is out and all healthy, it is a good idea to avoid coffee for the rest of the breastfeeding period. Even decaf coffee while breastfeeding can maybe cause something to go wrong. Like we said before, you should always check with your doctor, or any type of trust-worthy consultants, such as other moms, or people educated on the pregnancy and diet subject. You also know that the release of stomach acid, which is the result of drinking regular or decaf coffee, can cause stomach pains, and we don’t want any women with stomach pains giving birth.

Now, that we threw a bunch of information on you, before all, we just want you to stay calm, and don’t panic too much over coffee. It’s only a drink, after all! Many people will say that it’s good, that it’s bad, many internet web-pages will tell you the same, but common sense would be a trip to the doctor or a physician, or maybe even a nutritionist. We just want to make things clear: Coffee, decaf coffee isn’t unhealthy, but you should be aware that as a pregnant woman, you become way more sensitive to anything, and that the baby in its development might come up to some obstacles caused by the diet of the mother.

Conclusion

So, just like we said before, only trust in trust-worthy information. Maybe coffee or decaf coffee won’t present much of a problem for your pregnancy, but it can do so to some other women for example. This is just another sentence to make it clear that we are all different, and we react to things in our unique way. You have to have in mind that your baby’s health is in the first place, so if you got to make a sacrifice of giving up your favorite drink for a year or so then it must be that way. Who knows, maybe you will discover a new, much better drink for you that will become your new number one! Remember that doctors are to be trusted always, and listen to what the clinics such as Mayo clinics and health organizations such as NHS are saying about certain products. All in all, stay well informed and be careful with your daily consumptions and habits.

FAQs- Frequently asked questions