My Love Relationship with Coffee

I have a long-standing love relationship with coffee. I love it. As an avid reader, freelance writer, and nerd with spectacles, I consider that drinking coffee is an integral part of my personality. It is not that I do not eat right, and as a consequence, I need to drink it. It is nothing like that. It is just that, since my university’ days, I got used to it. Then, I went on to live in Europe where drinking coffee is like an epidemic. Did I mention that I love Europe and Europeans? (It must be that three-fourths of my ancestors come from Europe. When blood calls, what one is supposed to do?) 

The problem is that now I am pregnant. During my pregnancy orientation at the base’s Women Health Clinic, the lecturer asked if there was any coffee drinker in the room. Strangely, I was the only pregnant lady who raised her hand. I think that the other women did not raise their hand out of shame or fear that they might be caught doing something naughty. I am a genuine and sincere person, so I raised my hand. If I am a coffee drinker, I am, and that is it. I just want to know what I can do about it during my pregnancy. The lecturer told me that I should limit my daily coffee intake to 5onz or less because more than that could harm the baby.

I decided to search for more information. I like to review different sources before making a conclusion about a topic. Relying conclusions and opinions in a single source is not particularly intelligent.

1. The American Pregnancy Association indicates that caffeine, which is found in coffee, sodas, tea and chocolate among others, is a stimulant and diuretic. As a stimulant, caffeine increases the heart rate, blood pressure and the incidence of urination. Increased heart rate and high blood pressure are never good, much less during pregnancy. Excessive urination translates into diminished body fluids that can result in dehydration, which could harm a pregnancy. Another problem with caffeine is that it passes through the placenta directly to the baby, who is not able to process and metabolize it. As a result, caffeine can alter the baby’s movement and sleep pattern.

Author: Takkk, Wikimedia Commons.  Cafe - Time Coffee cup - hand made from Hungary, 1960's year.

The American Pregnancy Association also presents some facts regarding caffeine. Scholarly studies have found that caffeine can cause birth defects, low-birth weight and pre-term delivery. The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that women, whose caffeine intake is more than 200mg a day, are more prone to suffer a miscarriage than women who do not consume caffeine. However, Epidemiology made a study and found that there is no increased risk of miscarriage in women whose daily caffeine intake was minimal- that is between 200mg and 300mg. As researches have not come to a formal conclusion, doctors recommend pregnant women to restrain their caffeine intake to less than 200mg during a day.

2. I was given a pregnancy manual, Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Goal Oriented Guide to Prenatal Care (2010), during my orientation. This manual argues that caffeine can harm the DNA; therefore, it should be limited to less than 200mg per day. This is the same amount recommended by the American Pregnancy Association. However, women should be careful when preparing their coffee because one cup of coffee (the equivalent to 200mg) could have more than the recommended amount of caffeine. This means that coffee should not be made strong.

3. Mayo Clinic also argues that caffeine can have negative effects on pregnancy since it can pass through the placenta. As the other sources mentioned, they recommend limiting the caffeine intake to less than 200mg a day during pregnancy.

In conclusion, my love relationship with coffee does not have to end but moderated. I have stayed away from coffee for the most part of my first trimester. I wanted to be sure about how to proceed with its consummation. I need to limit my caffeine intake to the magic number: less than 200mg a day. I almost never drink soda, so I am safe with that. I am not passionate about tea. Chocolate consummation might be a problem. What I will do is that I will be extremely careful when I decide to drink coffee and eat chocolate. Probably, the best idea is not consuming these the same day. As for coffee, there is also the decaffeinated brand.