Pregnancy is something that changes your life, your routine, and your daily habits. As your body undergoes a number of hormonal changes, so does your lifestyle. For you to make sure you’re pregnancy is safe, we’ve picked the most important coffee facts and the impact on women who are pregnant.

Caffeine is an active ingredient in coffee and it is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Yet, the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee is not that high, although it varies. It ranges from 50 to 400 mg per cup (0.002 - 0.01 oz).

In pregnant women, caffeine can go through the placenta to the fetus, which cannot yet metabolize caffeine so well. Thus, some studies link high consumption of caffeine in pregnancy to increased risk of miscarriage, premature delivery, stillbirth, or lower birth weight. This is why doctors recommend avoiding coffee during pregnancy.

If you’re a full-blown coffee lover and can’t stand to be separated from coffee, you can drink it during pregnancy but do so quite moderately.

EFSA in their ‘Scientific Opinion on Caffeine’ published in 2015, advised that pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to 200 mg (0.007 oz) per day.

That is in line with the UK’s NHS and the March of Dimes in the USA, who both advise an upper limit for pregnant women of 200 mg of caffeine per day from all sources.

A regular cup of coffee contains approximately 75 mg caffeine.

It is generally recommended that pregnant women limit their intake of caffeine per day (about 1 cups of coffee or a latte). But keep in mind that this limit includes all your sources of caffeine, like hot chocolate, chocolate, green tea, cola and energy drinks.

Sources:

Is it safe to drink coffee during pregnancy? babycentre.co.uk

Caffeine During Pregnancy: How Much is Safe? caffeineinformer.com