Caffeine and miscarriage

Drinking more than two cups of coffee a day could increase pregnant women's risk of miscarriage, US researchers have said.

Their study says caffeine in the coffee is likely to be the reason for the increased risk of losing a baby, as caffeine intake from caffeinated soda, tea and hot chocolate showed a similar increased risk.

Previous research has suggested a link between caffeine and miscarriage.

The scientists behind the latest study say it "strengthens" this association as they took into account morning sickness, which typically causes many women to avoid caffeine - therefore removing speculation that the association was due to reduced caffeine intake by healthy pregnant women.

The researchers, based at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, studied 1,063 pregnant women in San Francisco for two years from October 1996.

They analysed caffeine effect among women who never changed their pattern of caffeine consumption during their pregnancy.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, show that women who consumed 200mg or more of caffeine per day (two or more cups of regular coffee or five cans of caffeinated soda) had double the miscarriage risk of women who consumed no caffeine.

Even women who drank less than 200mg of caffeine a day had more than 40 per cent increased risk of miscarriage.

"The main message for pregnant women from these findings is that they probably should consider stopping caffeine consumption during pregnancy because this research provides clearer and stronger evidence that high doses of caffeine intake during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage," said lead researcher Dr De-Kun Li.

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