Pregnancy and coffee: To drink or not to drink?

Oh boy.  Here we go.  Pregnant Jane sent me an article she found about pregnancy and coffee and posted it on Twitter.  

It seems that according to a new study, drinking coffee while pregnant could damage babies’ DNA and increase their chances of developing cancer.  (Click here to see the article open in a new window.)

Now before all pregnant women freak out, here is a quote from the article above that’ll relieve all your worries:

“Although there’s no evidence at all of a link between caffeine and cancer, we’re putting two and two together and saying: caffeine can induce these changes and it has been shown that these changes are elevated in leukaemia patients,’ added Dr Cooke.”

Putting two and two together?  You’re kidding me, right?  Another quote from the article is, “The idea seems plausible.”

Plausible?!  The existence of bigfoot is plausible.  So is a 50 pound house cat.

After reading the article (especially the headline) I had to make sure that I wasn’t reading a page on the National Enquirer’s website.  Very misleading, until you read the article…

Putting two and two together… huh.  You might as well say that pregnant women shouldn’t drink too much water because their baby will float away!

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend awhile back.  If you search for nearly any food or drink or just about anything in the world, you’re going to find all sorts of misinformation, conflicting stories, and before you know it, you’re scared to death.

So out of curiosity, I decided to do some research while Jane watches The Bachelor she recorded tonight (so she can skip through the commercials) on this whole coffee and pregnancy ordeal.  So let’s dive in…

Title: Coffee and Pregnancy Mix Safely
Website: http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/Pregnancy/4935
Published: January 26, 2007
What they say: “Pregnant women can drink coffee without the fear it will lead to a premature birth or a low-birth-weight baby.”

Title: Is Coffee Safe During Pregnancy?
Website: http://www.talkaboutcoffee.com/drinking-coffee-during-pregnancy.html
Published: I believe in October or November 2008
What they say:  Basically drink up!  They mention several studies there.

Title: 2-cup coffee habit may double miscarriage risk.
Website: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22718279/
Published: January 21, 2008
What they say:  Don’t drink 2 cups of coffee.

Title: Coffee, Tea, and Pregnancy Makes Three
Website: http://coffeetea.about.com/od/health/a/pregnancy.htm
Published:  Not sure.
What they say:  Don’t drink more than one or two cups a day

Arrrgghh.  I quit.  I looked through about 20 other sites and most bounced around all over the place, others were so horrible I wouldn’t dare share on here because they had so much misinformation.  But the overall consensus is that it’s fine in moderation.  And all of us already knew that already, didn’t we?  One cup a day is fine.  And the funny thing is, that is exactly what Jane’s doctor told her.

Tonight I officially feel bad for the pregnant women of the world.  There are so many people, websites, newscasters, bloggers, friends, family, the media, etc. all telling you what you should and shouldn’t be doing.  How you ladies handle all of that craziness is beyond me!

You might also want to read:

1. 12 weeks pregnant: What can you drink when pregnant?
2. Dancing your way through pregnancy?
3. Good morning Jane. I hear that pregnant woman have the best sex and better orgasms…
4. Shocking New Pregnancy Trends, Forecasts, Graphs, Thoughts, And Pens.
5. 27 weeks pregnant: Pregnancy appointment including glucose tolerance test and anxiety talk with the OB

Tagged as: Coffee, Pregnancy, pregnant, Twitter