I read an interesting article in the New York Times this afternoon; one that concerns me because I have friends who are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant. The New York Times reported on an upcoming study to be published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published by the National Medical Society. In the study, researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research worked to discover whether there was any actual link between the intake of caffeine of pregnant women and the liklihood of miscarriage.
After interviewing a number of pregnant or recently pregnant women, the researchers decided that intake of more than 200mg of caffeine a day may very well increase that risk. Some doctors, though, question the reliability of the results.
Critics had maintained that the association was not so much a high dose of caffeine intake that increased the risk of miscarriage, but that women with a healthy pregnancy are more likely (than those about to miscarry), to reduce their caffeine intake due to nausea, vomiting, and aversion to caffeine, Li said. "Therefore, the critics claimed that the observed association was a result of reduction of caffeine intake by healthy pregnant women," he said.
So what's a fatigued mom-to-be supposed to do for her daily energy jolt?
"If you definitely need caffeine to get you going, try keeping it to one cup or less a day. Avoiding it may be even better. Consider switching to decaffeinated coffee and other decaffeinated beverages during your pregnancy," said Tracy Flanagan, MD, Director of Women's Health, Kaiser Permanente Northern California. “Learn to perk up instead with natural energy boosts like a brisk walk, yoga stretches, snacking on dried fruits and nuts."
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