Caffeine

[bobble53]

How much do you have a day?

I’m 18 weeks pregnant and to be honest I’m pretty clueless about how much I’m allowed. I have one Nescafé sachet instant latte at the moment or a mocha a day. Is that ok? Could I have 2?

I think the caffeine allowance is two mugs of tea or one mug of filter coffee x

But there's also some pretty great decaf out there. I used to have one regular coffee in the morning then switch to decaf.

I think we're allowed 1 cup coffee per day so I split mine...I do half a spoon of regular coffee + half a spoon of decaf. Twice per day

Did same on my last pregnancy

You’re “allowed” as much as you like. Guidance says 1-2 cups of coffee iirc and I personally didn’t have more than that but it’s not really based on anything concrete. It’s worth reading the book “Expecting Better” where the author outlines the research that has gone into the advice. Interestingly with caffeine it seems that there is some evidence to suggest that higher caffeine intake is associated with miscarriage in early pregnancy BUT lower caffeine intake may be due to women feeling nauseated and nausea can sometimes indicate a greater likelihood of viability in the early stages. So there is a correlation/causation problem. It’s a really interesting book and I found it helpful in making informed decisions

I'm down to one a day Mon - Fri as my colleague makes me one at lunchtime and refusing would raise too many eyebrows. But I have decaf at home.

Same as you, @HerSymphony. There is, in my opinion, real flaws in the way we are presented the ‘facts’ about what is and is not acceptable to consume. I found Expecting Better quite breath of fresh air...

I have felt nauseous and rough most of this pregnancy (22w), and had constant reassurance that this is a strong indicator for a healthy pregnancy. Who knows? But I’m not limiting my caffeine intake to result in headaches and poor concentration ON TOP of feeling shot when the evidence indicates a) we’re healthy, and b) caffeine has no significant negative impact.

I drink 3-4 cups of strong coffee on most days as well as tea, I also eat Brie from the supermarket, I drink a glass of wine a couple of nights a week, I have my steak how I like it.... but I’m making those choices based on my health, my education, my own conscious decision after my own research.

Yep, I have a seriously strong cup of coffee every morning (3 scoops minimum filter coffee), I'm happy with that! I read expecting better book with my first, and I like the empowering feeling of making my own decisions, rather than being told what to do like a child (in a very overly cautious conservative, sometimes scare mongering way). As an aside, I'm annoyed and angry about most things these days

But ultimately, if you were to worry about drinking more than you are, I'd say its definitely not worth it!

I have a LOT of tea through the day. I didn't realise that anything was wrong or mentioned about caffeine 😳 baby is 36 weeks and no issues at all

The general advice is 200-300mg caffeine a day. I’ve gone right off coffee since about 4 weeks and tend to drink decaf tea anyway so save most of my caffeine allowance for Pepsi Max which has 40mg/can.

Tea is 65mg for a reasonably strong cup and coffee anywhere around 100-140mg/cup depending on whether instant or freshly brewed.