Despatches from a mother who started late (and is running to catch up)

Blog to Book - Fashionably Late

I am writing Fashionably Late, an irreverent guide to having children later in life. Did you become a mother over 35? If so, and you'd like to tell me your story please contact me at mail@motheratlarge.com.

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Press and radio coverage of this site from around the UK

Caffeine linked to miscarriage

Article in The Times saying just two cups of coffee per day could cause miscarriage. "The main message for pregnant women is that they probably should consider stopping caffeine consumption during pregnancy," says the scientist who led the US study.

Pat O’Brien, a consultant obstetrician at University College Hospital, London, and spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, is quoted saying: “This is the best evidence we now have on the subject and I will advise patients to avoid caffeine completely, at least for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Good studies have shown it may be safer to drink caffeine after that, but no more than 200 mg a day is still to be recommended.”

The Times helpfully gives caffeine doses:

(caffeine in a 150ml drink):

100mg in coffee

39mg in tea

15mg in a caffeinated soft drink such as cola

2mg in hot chocolate

2mg in decaffeinated coffee

I didn't have a problem with coffee during the pregnancy I lost. But I couldn't bear the taste or smell of coffee in the first trimester with this baby - maybe nature's way of keeping the pregnancy safe. Nowadays I manage the odd cup. And I couldn't imagine life without a morning cup of tea. Nectar.

What do you think of the new caffeine limits? Could you/did you stick to them in pregnancy?

Posted 21 January 2008 11:29

Health Pregnancy Safety Miscarriage

Comments

potty mummy said:

Luckily I never drank coffee (had a rather instantenous effect on my digestive system when I tried a few times as a teenager). But I just couldn't give up my daily diet coke... 2 kids later, I'm still drinking it.

Posted 21 January 2008 12:27

Helen said:

Potty Mummy, well, it is the 'real thing' after all. Am more of a tea drinker myself - but the decaff versions are quite good.

Posted 21 January 2008 14:24

Juliet said:

I knew I was pregnant every time because of a sudden total aversion to the smell of coffee (which normally I adore even more than I enjoy drinking the stuff!). I'm a great tea drinker, though, and drank through all pregnancies (but mainly Earl Grey and Lapsang, which I believe are lower in caffiene than PG Tips). I also drank a lot of diet coke, to which I was, like PottyMum, utterly addicted for many years until I read a report last year showing the catastrophic amounts of calcium it saps from the body. Now I'm in my late 40s I'm deliberately boosting my calcium intake and rather wish I'd known about the effects of coke years ago, because I do confess to having drunk it through years of breastfeeding, which probably didn't do wonders for any of us! I gave it up completely from the day I read the calcium statistics!

Posted 21 January 2008 14:46

Juliet said:

NB 'drank through all pregnancies' in my previous comment referred to TEA, not alcohol, I hasten to add!

Posted 21 January 2008 14:48

Helen said:

Juliet, goodness, didn't know about the calcium-sapping qualities of Coke! That's just how it was for me with coffee - even a feeble latte was too strong for me. Don't worry - I knew you meant tea!

Posted 21 January 2008 14:51

DJ Kirkby said:

I went off coffee and tea while pregnant but loved a cup of hot chocolate.

Posted 21 January 2008 17:24

Frog in the Field said:

Tea is heaven, couldn't drink it for a year once owing to an allergy, it was a serious struggle to go cold turkey on tea!

Posted 21 January 2008 18:14

Helen said:

DJ, yes, I've become strangely partial to hot chocolate. Maybe it's the body craving calcium?

Frog in the Field, ewwwwh, no, an allergy to tea! That's cruel!

Posted 21 January 2008 19:15

Omega Mum said:

I had taken a small bet with myself that you'd go for the coffee issue, and another bet on how restrained you'd be. I won the first and lost the second.....

Posted 21 January 2008 22:13

Guineapigmum said:

I went right off coffee during my pregnancies - and again when the menopause started.

Posted 21 January 2008 23:04

Expatmum said:

Hi there. It's intersting to me that when my sister and I were first pregnant (now 15 years ago) she was in England and I was in the US. I was immediately banned from coffee and tea, anything with nutrasweet and obviously all alcohol; My sister was told to 'be careful' having a celebratory drink, not even told about caffeine but warned off pate and soft cheese. The soft cheese warning didn't hit the States for quite a few years later. It's good that this study is being reported on both shores - not that I am planning to become pregnant again, but for others that might look for a 2nd opinion. It's hard enough being pregnant without having to 2nd guess the medical reports.

Posted 22 January 2008 01:30

Joyfulgirl said:

This makes me very sad! A highlight of my morning (after my boy's hug and smile of course) is a cup of coffee. When pregnant and breastfeeding I still loved (and needed) that morning coffee - though I did restrict myself to one or two.

I wish I had had the aversion to coffee that many people get when pregnant because I would find it very difficult to give up - bad enough to have to do without a glass of red wine, pate and soft cheeses ... maybe I am just selfish and I do appreciate that if this is valid research then it is good to know these things but for me it makes being pregnant (and breastfeeding) an even more miserable time.

Posted 22 January 2008 10:27

bushra said:

whoa. my pregnancy was not plain sailing at all, with morning sickness for the whole time! and the only thing that settled my stomach was coca-cola! i made sure i stayed within the recommended guidlines for caffeine intake, but as i wasn't drinking any tea or coffee i didn't see the harm. and my boy is doing fine too!

Posted 22 January 2008 11:38

Helen said:

Omega Mum, just couldn't resist. Sorry. Soon we'll be down to tap water and crackers - the only allowed foods in pregnancy.

Guineapigmum, haven't even started to get my head round the menopause - but that's something to know about it.

Expatmum, welcome to the site! From what I understand, the soft cheese madness is more a UK than US thing. I can't believe it's as dangerous as doctors claim - but don't feel in a position to question conventional medical wisdom, so just do as I'm told. There's something about pregnancy that makes me feel a prisoner in my own body sometimes! Though I also love it....

Joyfulgirl, I still miss breastfeeding and am so excited about feeding another baby - but I know what you mean, the constant worrying about food can get wearing.

Oh, Bushra, morning sickness all nine months! You poor girl. How did you cope? I thought 12 weeks of it was bad enough.

Posted 22 January 2008 12:53

Mother at Large

Welcome to this site. It's based on my personal experiences of becoming a mother a little later in life. If, like me, you waited a while to have children you're in good company. More and more of us are waiting until our late 30s or even 40s to become parents. Some might even say we're fashionably late.

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About me

Mother at Large dreams of crossing the Pyrenees with her young daughter. For now, getting to playgroup takes all her energy. To find out more read her full profile.