Caffeine in pregnancy

[lozbeth]

Ladies how on earth do we calculate caffeine in pregnancy nothings clear and I dunno if I'm going over or under. In general I'm having a chocolate bar a day like kitkat and 2 cups of normal tea and then rest decaf with a hot choc at night is this safe? Or am I over ? Loads of conflicting info.

I’ve no idea
All I drink is tea 😳

That sounds fine, shouldn't be over.
I didn't even think about it tbh and probably went over loads of times.

I’m having a cup of real coffee a day, then decaf, no tea and no chocolate, just because I don’t really like it.

What does the NHS site say?

I think that sounds fine. I cut out most caffeine, but that's mostly because I lost the taste for coffee. I think they say 2-3 cups of tea or instant coffee a day is ok.

NHS recommend up to 200mg and have some examples here: www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/limit-caffeine-during-pregnancy.aspx?categoryid=54&subcategoryid=130

You can Google the amount of caffeine in most things. e.g PG Tips is 40mg, can of Diet Coke is 40mg.

The research is somewhat confusing! I think 200mg per day is a best guess at a safe limit. How you worked how much caffeine is in those? Google will tell you!

I generally have two cups of tea a day. But don't have much chocolate and don't like coffee.

I’ve not even bothered calculating, usually have 1-2 cups of tea lots of chocolate and sometimes a hot choc all in one day! Baby’s fit and healthy at every scan! I wouldn’t worry about it and have what your use too! Although I have cut out real coffee. So tea or hot choc for me!

Google literally tells you different things it's so unhelpful and the nhs site isn't very helpful on a lot of things

I had one cup of 'real' coffee first thing in the morning throughout my entire pregnancy as I can't function without it. First trimester I had a Coca Cola a few times as it helped with the morning sickness (was signed off work for two weeks with it for context). Went off chocolate but had a bit here and there. Otherwise it was decaf everything until last trimester when I had a cup of 'real' tea at 3pm in order to get through the afternoon at work! I think it's only a risk if you're glugging caffeinated drinks throughout the day tbh.

www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/limit-caffeine-during-pregnancy.aspx?categoryid=54&subcategoryid=130

Have You had a read of the NHS site? It explains the risks (which are small if you go over) and gives a few examples of various drinks and foods.

I used this calculator. I think it's good and hoping it's accurate.
www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/im-pregnant/nutrition-pregnancy/check-your-caffeine-intake-pregnancy

I wouldn’t worry too much, unless you’re downing red bull or coffee shop coffee I’m sure it’ll be fine if you go over occasionally. I tend to have 2 instant coffees a day or one coffee and one tea. I’m off most chocolate at the moment but sometimes have a little bit.

I just go with normal amounts, a few cups of tea throughout the day and chocolate whenever I fancy.

The only thing I’m more aware of now is that there is more in Starbucks coffees than you might think so if I have one I just limit the rest of the day.

In my last pregnancy I avoided caffeine religiously, apart from chocolate, as I was worried about an increased risk of miscarriage. I had read about this being a possible issue, but also instinctively I felt that too much caffeine would create a wired baby...well I was entirely wrong - I had one of the worst sleepers I have come across, my dd literally just seems to need v little sleep. I know that's just one anecdote but since seeing that avoiding caffeine made feck all difference I'm much more relaxed about it in this pregnancy, try to have decaf but don't worry if it's not available. Decaf things tend to be made with chemicals anyway so it's hard to put only pure things in your body unless you're willing to give up all your own needs. The amounts you have said certainly sound safe.

that sounds completely fine.
Youd have to chug red bull and large starbucks to actually do any damage.... it also depends on your own tolerance as well obv. Everyones bodies process caffeine differently.

Oh I usually have 1 cup of coffee in the morning at work and then a bit of chocolate throughout the day and a Coke Zero at some point too. I think that comes to around 200mg but some days I don't have any of all 3 so I feel like it balances out overall! X

I found it easier to just avoid caffeine because it's impossible to know how much you've had, how strong your coffee was, etc. I drank decaf coffee, avoided Coke and tea, and didn't worry about chocolate because it contains such a small amount.

On the Mothercare UK Facebook page today they had a handy little infographic I though was really useful

www.facebook.com/mothercareuk/

@Smellyjo I had the total opposite! I really struggled to give up caffeine in my first pregnancy so just stopped trying in the end and I was blessed with the best sleeper I've ever met!

Stupidly, I've been trying to give up during my second pregnancy ... perhaps I shouldn't!!!!

My first pregnancy was 16 years ago... I only started drinking coffee then. I used to drink loads of it... didn’t know you couldn’t when pregnant?!

I think that research has been conflicting overall so the 200mg limit was introduced just in case.

I've reduced caffeine in pregnancy but I do like my daily coffee and some tea too.

It's so difficult to calculate isn't it, especially as decaf tea still has some caffeine! I think the best idea for me is to try to cut it out completely, which I am sure will be easier said than done. I have been doing some research on the totally zero caffeine teas so thought I would share the article on this which I found quite useful:
www.wildbostea.com/post/caffeine-during-pregnancy-what-tea-can-i-drink-safely

Tommy's has a good caffeine calculator.

www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/calculators-tools-resources/check-your-caffeine-intake-pregnancy

I generally have 1-2 normal tea's a day and if getting coffee from a cafe etc I'll stick to decaf. Earlier in pregnancy coke zero was a lifesaver for nausea. Even on days when I panicked about having too much I'd check the calculator above and was usually way under. And there is no way I was going to give up chocolate during pregnancy! I checked with my midwife as well and she said that's absolutely fine.

According to Tommy's website:

You will be reaching 200mg of caffeine with, for example:

2 bars of plain chocolate and one mug of filter coffee
2 mugs of tea and one can of cola.

So it sounds like you're fine since tea has less caffeine than coffee. I drank gallons of tea a day before pregnancy, so I just switched to decaf. If you're really worried you could just do that. It's not so bad once you get used to it.