Turns Out, You Can Drink a Small Amount of Coffee During Pregnancy After All

In the latest on-again, off-again slew of pregnancy related studies, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists has revisited their 2010 opinion that maybe, just maybe, a little bit of coffee is probably OK for women to drink while pregnant.

“Moderate caffeine consumption (less than 200 mg per day) does not appear to be a major contributing factor in miscarriage or preterm birth,” they concluded in their revised 2015 statement.

As it turns out, the whole rumor that caffeine could lead to miscarriage came from a few studies that were probably skewed in the first place, since at least one of them came from studying women who had already suffered a pregnancy loss, the ACOG conceded. How no one picked up on that earlier is beyond me, but at least they set out to discover the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth this time around.

I understand that there is a lot that we don’t know about how a woman’s body kind of magically grows an entire human being from scratch, but it’s also a little confusing to me why we seem to focus so much on the same stuff over and over and over (alcohol, caffeine, and any type of medication one might take for migraines and/or morning sickness).

Honestly, who can keep up with these kinds of things? I’m a nurse and am genuinely interested in pregnancy health, and even I am exhausted by the amount of back-and-forth studies about pregnancy that seem to pop up every other day.

Coffee is fine! Don’t drink coffee, it kills! Exercise is good! But maybe not too much! Don’t sniff any medications or your baby will be deformed! Some medications are absolutely necessary!

But apparently, there is a pretty good reason why doctors keep coming back to The Great Caffeine Debate — it’s a drug that easily crosses the placenta, which means it’s getting to the baby, and therefore must be doing something to that developing fetus because literally everything affects the developing fetus, from the air you breathe to the level of stress your great-grandmother had during her lifetime. (Yes, really.)

The main concern with caffeine is that while doctors can’t definitively prove anything harmful about how it’s affecting your baby, they are still worried that those circulating levels of caffeine in the baby’s bloodstream could potentially limit some of the essential nutrients he or she needs, contributing to Intrauterine Growth Restriction, or IUGR.

From their policy statement, it sounds like the ACOG is pretty convinced that there is a link between caffeine and IUGR somewhere, but like a mother without any definitive proof that her child is lying to her, begrudgingly admits that “there is no clear evidence that caffeine exposure increases the risk of IUGR.”

Along those same lines, with all the evidence and studies available, the bottom line is that the ACOG does not see “moderate caffeine consumption,” which is defined as less than 200 mg of caffeine, or one 12 oz. cup of coffee, per day, as a “major contributing factor in miscarriage or preterm birth.”

Which, to be clear, is not the same as saying that caffeine is 100 percent, absolutely safe to have during pregnancy, but that one of the biggest concerns — that caffeine causes miscarriages — does not seem to be an issue.

And while this is good news to women who may be genuinely concerned about their daily cup of java causing harm to their babies, I wager that the great majority of pregnant women already know that in general, one cup of coffee here and there isn’t going to hurt their babies. And maybe the ACOG hasn’t met any official pregnant women, but I can pretty much guarantee that the majority of them, especially those who have already suffered from infertility or a pregnancy loss, are not going to risk anything by hooking themselves up to an IV line to their coffee pot.

It’s just not worth it. In my experience as a definite coffee addict, I will say that my body has done me a solid by making me loathe the smell of coffee in any way, shape, or form while pregnant. Maybe it’s my body’s way of protecting me from the harm I could inflict upon my offspring with my usual thrice-daily cuppa, but regardless, I can’t drink coffee while I’m pregnant. It literally makes me sick, and I look forward to the moment — with my last baby, it was within hours — that I could enjoy a fresh cup of that blissful dark liquid again without worry. (Except, of course, with the worry that the caffeine will then be passed in my milk. Dang it!)

But if you’re not like me and still crave that beautiful fresh pot of your beloved coffee every morning, even while you’re busy growing humans, worry not, because the ACOG says it’s probably safe for you to have one cup.

For now.

Maybe.

Probably.

Most likely.

Hopefully.

All signs point to “yes”.

Unless they don’t.

Maybe you don’t want to risk it?

But really, it’s probably fine.

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