My best friend is about five months along, and she is absolutely refusing to stop drinking coffee! She won't switch to decaf because she "hates the taste and doesn't get the same rush from caffeine in regular coffee." She seriously drinks it with every meal, and the other day at lunch she drank espresso! Her husband has tried stopping her by getting rid of all the coffee in the house, but she just goes out and gets it. And obviously he can't go with her everywhere she goes. She said she doesn't care because coffee is her favorite thing and without it she feels lost. She just doesn't care what it might do to the baby. She loves coffee too much. What should I do?! I'm seriously scared. She won't even listen to doctors!
Also, could someone please tell me what harm this could do to her unborn baby if it continues?
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18 responses so far ↓
1 TT // Jul 19, 2008
The baby will be okay. It is okay to have caffine as long as you don't drink it all of the time. She doesn't have to stop as long as she cuts some of it out. No one really knows the effect it has on the baby, but it should be limited.
2 mebony68 // Jul 19, 2008
i really dont think coffee will bother the baby… as long as shes not drinking alcoholic beverages or other drugs
3 @MAE@ // Jul 19, 2008
i think it can cause miscarriages….i read that somewhere and something about it increases ur heart rate and thats not good cause that can cause a miscarriage also
4 Jessica B // Jul 19, 2008
A little caffeine is ok. My sister drank alot of coke while she was pregnant and everything was fine for her. I am pregnant and I quit all caffeine because I really didn't drink it to begin with..
5 Mindy W // Jul 19, 2008
It doesn't cause birth defects but EXCESSIVE amounts of caffiene can restrict blood flow to the placenta. Most doctors say less 300mg of caffiene a day is fine which is about 2 cups brewed or 4 shots of espresso at starbucks (75 each). I'm 9 months and I drink coffee everyday. I order half decaf so that I can have a soda or something later if I want.
6 mommy&wife_to_be // Jul 19, 2008
Caffine has been known to cause miscarriages!she needs to stop drinking cofffee but she's past the first 3 months so i don't think the effect is that big.I drink pepsi and cola and had starbucks but in moderation.She needs to be telling her doctor she is drinking coffee heavily.
7 curious // Jul 19, 2008
Well I don't drink coffee, but I drink soda off and on during the day.
I'm 5 months pregnant also.
I didn't drink caffeine for the first 15 weeks, but now I drink it.
I drink water to though.
Honestly the caffeine is what keeps me from sleeping all day!!
8 Alyssa Nichole due in October.! // Jul 19, 2008
My mom drank tons of caffiene when she was pregnant with my brother and myself, and we both came out perfectly healthy babies. I am 26 weeks along and still drink caffiene products, but not often, and my pregnancy is perfectly normal. In studies though it shows that it will raise the heart rate and blood pressure. Your friend should be fine though.
9 RAVEN // Jul 19, 2008
She doesn't have to stop, but yes she should cut back if for no other reason then the fact caffeine leeches iron from your body and can make you anemic. She does not want to have to take iron pills, they are awful. My sister drunk 3 cups of coffee a day and has three perfectly healthy children, so just because something can happen doesn't mean it will. For further info I suggest the following links: http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/41/3606_696.htm
http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/psafe/0,,midwife_47ml,00.html
http://www.talkaboutcoffee.com/drinking-coffee-during-pregnancy.html
10 momzilla // Jul 19, 2008
This is one thing I HATE that happens to use women when we are pregnant. Everything we ingest comes under scrutiny. I don't want to be rude, but it honestly isn't any of your business. I drank coffee with my ds (not with every meal however) because sometimes I was so exhausted at work I HAD to have SOMETHING to pick me up. It's her body, her child, the decision is ultimately up to her. If you see her drinking a cup of coffee, ignore it. And btw, decaf coffee is almost as bad as regular coffee, they use a chemical to seperate the caffeine from the bean.
I do wonder however if you friend has heard of half-caf. Half regular and half decaf.
11 Mari growing jelly bean #4! // Jul 19, 2008
Aslong as it's not several cups of coffee she should be okay. If she doesn't want to consider what may happen then that's her problem and her fault. I want to tell you what a good friend you are to be so worried. You gave her your opinion and so did her husband and she still wont listen. You did your part and now don't worry things should be okay.
12 Emily T // Jul 19, 2008
Oh dear! I'm sorry for that little baby.
Here is a website that you should read and have your friend read. I'm sorry to say this but your friend sounds awfully selfish if she won't give up coffee for a few months to give her child the best start possible. 
I hope that this website helps your friend. You're a good friend for being concerned about the little one.
http://www.teeccino.com/caffeinewomenshealth.aspx
13 coldgreyash // Jul 19, 2008
Honestly, the concern with coffee is that it can cause a miscarriage, there is no studies that show it causes any kind of physical damage. However, doctors also believe it can cause fluctuations in the forming brain tissue (just like you feel when you drink coffee - like you are all speeded up). No one says it's really dangerous to the baby unless it causes a miscarriage - and at 5 months, that's less likely.
My doctor said to stop drinking energy drinks and cut back to 2 -3 cups of coffee a day. I don't drink coffee so it doesn't matter, but that's what they said.
Don't worry. Don't do anything. Try to get her to drink extra water as this will help the baby and her during the whole pregnancy and coffee dehydrates you.
14 T. G // Jul 19, 2008
I have 3 kids and pregnant with baby #4 and I drink caffeine all the time. Caffeine will not harm and unborn baby there is no medical evidence to support this claim. I 've never heard of a unborn child having birth defects due to too much caffeine. You might want to do some up to date research on this one. Now too much caffeine can cause bladder infections because the more soda, tea, and coffee you drink the less pure water you drink. I'm with your friend I will not give up anything that is caffeinated. Did you know that drinking regular tap water is more harmful than caffeinated drinks.
Here's an article:
"Carry on with the coffee, pregnant women are told"
15 Michelle // Jul 19, 2008
All that caffeine will raise the baby's heart rate and if it's heavily sugared it will make the baby wiggly (perhaps when she'd like to sleep!).
I've nearly cut all caffeine out of my diet for now (I'm 37 weeks pregnant). I have noticed baby wiggles a LOT after I drink a pepsi.
If I can breast feed I'll still be cutting the caffeine out since it passes into the milk, and the last thing I want is a super-charged infant LOL!
I do miss coffee tho…
16 Anneliese Scarlett // Jul 19, 2008
I don't think it will cause any harm to the baby, however I really don't think it's very healthy for your friend! Even if she wasn't pregnant, that amount of caffeine is bad. It increases your heart rate and can make you very sick, even lead to death if you abuse it. She doesn't have to stop completely if she absolutely refuses to, but she should definitely cut back.
Also, I don't mean to insult your friend, but if it's to the point where her husband needs to throw out all the coffee in the house and she has to sneak off to get it, that's just not right. She may be a caffeine addict, and once she has the baby she should seek help. Believe it or not, there are support groups. A friend of mine was a caffeine addict and went to support groups for help. Good luck!
17 QT3.14 // Jul 19, 2008
Oh come one people! Women have been having babies for all of time, and drinking coffee while pregnant for thousands upon thousands of years. Somehow our population has made it this far. If coffee is her favorite thing, then she should drink it! Good for her, more women need to put themselves first.
18 tulip+baby // Jul 19, 2008
Well, researchers said that caffeine showed a link to a higher risk of miscarriage but, not all studies showed the same thing. Below are some excerpts from experts though, mind you I am pregnant and I still drink some caffeine and while I was pregnant with #2 I drank soda. Although, I limited it to once a day or every other day.. no more than 150 mg per day i.e. "Coke 12 oz. = 35 mg caffeine or (20 oz. = 58mg caffeine)" so that means I can drink at least 2 if I'd like.
Check this site for the amount of caffeine your friend is drinking.
http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm
"There's general agreement that pregnant women and those trying to conceive should avoid consuming large quantities of caffeine. But after decades of controversy and conflicting evidence, there's still no real consensus on how much caffeine is safe during pregnancy."
"The March of Dimes advises women to limit their caffeine intake to less than 200 mg per day. This recommendation was prompted by the results of a study published in the March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, showing that moms-to-be who consumed 200 mg or more of caffeine a day had double the risk of miscarriage compared to those who had no caffeine."
Are there other possible risks besides miscarriage?
"Yes. Because caffeine can cause blood vessels to constrict, it may reduce blood flow to the placenta. And because it easily crosses the placenta and reaches your baby (who then very slowly metabolizes it), caffeine may directly affect his developing cells.
A study in Denmark found that the risk of stillbirth more than doubled in women who drank a great deal of coffee per day — eight cups or more — compared with non-coffee drinkers. And some studies suggest that high levels of caffeine consumption by Mom may slightly reduce a baby's birth weight, but other research has shown no association.
One study found a link between maternal caffeine consumption equal to three cups of coffee per day and an increased risk of having a son born with undescended testes. This happens when the testes don't move from the pelvis into the scrotum as they usually do in late pregnancy.
Other research has shown that babies whose mothers consumed more than 500 mg of caffeine a day had faster heart rates and breathing rates and spent more time awake in the first few days after birth."