Pre-Pregnancy Caffeine May Spell Trouble

Caffeine consumption in the weeks before pregnancy and during early pregnancy may be linked to miscarriage, a new study found.

On the positive side, however, this study also found that taking a daily multivitamin before conception and through early pregnancy was linked to a lowered miscarriage risk.

This study, published recently in Fertility and Sterility, looked at 344 couples' habits, which included factors like smoking, caffeine intake and taking a multivitamin, in the weeks before they conceived and the first seven weeks of pregnancy.

Consumption of more than two caffeinated beverages a day by the woman or the man was tied to an increased risk of miscarriage, these National Institutes of Health and Ohio State University researchers found.

These researchers noted that past research has found increased miscarriage risk tied to caffeine intake during early pregnancy and decreased risk tied to prenatal vitamin use.

Talk to your doctor about how to have the healthiest pregnancy possible.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development funded this research. The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest.