Giving Up Caffeine During Pregnancy

Craving chocolate? You are advised to limit your daily consumption to 200mg of caffeine during pregnancy. This should include all of the caffeine in your diet, not just the cups of coffee. On average, the caffeine contents of popular dietary sources are as follows:

  • 1 instant coffee – 100mg
  • 1 filter coffee – 140 mg
  • 1 tea – 75mg
  • 1 green tea – 50 mg
  • 1 can of cola – 40 mg
  • 50g milk chocolate – 25mg

Risks of caffeine during pregnancy

Caffeine travels across the placenta and can affect your baby. If you exceed the recommended 200mg of caffeine each day, you will have an increased risk of miscarriage and low birth weight.

Giving up caffeine during pregnancy

Some women choose to cut caffeine out entirely for the duration of the pregnancy. If you’d like to cut out the caffeine, try the following tips to help you give up the hard stuff:

  1. Switch to water – instead of supping a soda during your lunch break, opt for a glass of water instead. Pregnant women are advised to drink eight glasses of water a day, you can achieve this by switching from caffeine drinks to good old fashioned water. Try adding a slice of lemon for flavour.
  2. Cut out chocolate – chocolate cookies, chocolate ice-cream and chocolate bars all contain caffeine. Give up chocolate, and replace it with a healthy snack such as fresh fruit or mixed nuts.
  3. Go herbal – give up your life-long tea and coffee addiction, and instead embrace life as an appreciator of herbal teas. Choose a herbal tea that is recommended during pregnancy (not all are), and have this as your new morning call.
  4. Get enough rest – if you get enough sleep at night, you won’t need to rely on caffeine to prise open your sleepy eyes in the morning. Sleep whenever you feel tired, and trust your body to tell you when it needs more rest.
  5. Expect withdrawal symptoms – for the first week of your new caffeine-free life, you may encounter a few symptoms. From headaches to mood swings, giving up caffeine can take its toll on your body. Caffeine is addictive, so expect the first week to be rough. Once that’s over, however, you should feel great.
  6. Stay motivated – when faced with the withdrawal headaches, it can be hard to stay motivated. You may feel like running to the nearest coffee shop and ordering a double espresso, but don’t. Stay strong, stay motivated, and you’ll be over the worst of the symptoms in no time. Keep a scan photo, or a list of reasons why you’re quitting, with you to remind you why you’ve embarked on this challenge.

Do you have any tips for battling caffeine withdrawal during pregnancy?

Written by Fiona, proud owner of a toddler, @fiona_peacock

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

Staying Hydrated During Pregnancy

Adults are advised to drink six 8-ounce glasses of water each day, and during pregnancy this rises to eight 8-ounce glasses. This works out at around 2.5 litres of water every day. It may sound like a lot, but you should try to make sure you drink this much water each day throughout the pregnancy.

Does it have to be water?

No, you can breathe a sigh of relief, you should drink eight glasses of fluid each day, but they don’t all necessarily need to be water. Fruit juices, cordials, soft drinks, milk, soya milk and even tea and coffee all count towards your fluid intake.

Sugary drinks (sodas and juices) contain a lot of empty calories, so you may want to limit your intake of these drinks.

You should also limit your intake of caffeinated drinks, such as tea, coffee and soda. Not only does caffeine actually dehydrate you, but research has found that consuming over 200mg of caffeine each day increases the risk of miscarriage for pregnant women. This equates to two instant coffees, one brewed coffee or five cups of tea. The 200mg of caffeine each day should also include any caffeine from food sources such as chocolate.

If you don’t like drinking water, consider adding fruit (lemon or lime, for example) to make it more palatable.

What about fluid retention?

Some women limit their fluid intake in an attempt to avoid fluid retention. In fact, drinking more water helps to avoid fluid retention. If you are not drinking enough water, your body begins to store water, and during pregnancy this can lead to swelling.

Benefits of staying hydrated

You may have noticed that pregnant women are frequently told to stay hydrated, this is because drinking enough water can help you to avoid a number of pregnancy conditions. The following conditions can be worsened by dehydration:

  • swelling

  • headaches

  • constipation

  • hemorrhoids

  • bladder infections

  • nausea

  • skin problems

  • braxton hicks contractions

Drinking the right amount

Not many people keep track of how much they drink throughout the day, but it is worth doing during pregnancy to make sure you’re getting enough fluids. You could buy a 2.5 litre jug and fill it with water at the start of the day, and try to drink the contents before the end of the day. If you’re out and about, you may prefer to carry an 8-ounce glass with you so you can keep track of your fluid intake. By drinking out of a cup you know to be 8-ounces, you’ll know when you’ve hit your minimum target.

You don’t need to keep track of your fluid intake for the whole nine months, but it might be worth doing a couple of times so you get an idea of how much you drink. If you’re falling short of the 2.5 litre recommendation, you may have to make a concentrated effort to drink more water.

When to drink more

You should increase your fluid intake by one 8-ounce glass for each hour of exercise you do. Even if it’s just light exercise such as swimming or walking, you should still increase your fluid intake. You may find that you are thirstier on hot days too, as your body tries to cool down, so try to increase your fluid intake on these days too.

Are you staying hydrated during pregnancy?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

Can I Drink Coffee During Pregnancy?

If you rely on coffee to wake you up in the morning, you may be feeling slightly panicked at the idea that you have to go cold turkey for the next nine months. Should you give it up, or is it safe to drink coffee during pregnancy?

Caffeine recommendations
It is recommended that, while you are able to continue to drink caffeine throughout your pregnancy, you should limit your intake to 200mg a day. This equates to about two cups of instant coffee, or one cup of brewed coffee.

The 200mg should include all of your caffeine sources, not just coffee. For example, there’s no point cutting down to one cup of coffee a day by switching to caffeinated tea for your other nine cups. By doing that, you will still be exceeding the recommended daily caffeine intake. Tea, fizzy drinks and chocolate are all other sources of caffeine that you need to factor into your 200mg. A small bar of chocolate can contain as many as 50mg of caffeine, so it’s important that you keep track of all your dietary caffeine because it soon adds up.

If you usually drink coffee from outlets, you should bear in mind that the strength of the particular coffee can vary drastically between chains. It’s also important to note that the recommended allowance of two cups a day is referring to the regular coffee cups you have at home, not the bathtub size coffee mugs you find in some coffee houses.

Caffeine risks
There are a number of risks associated with regularly exceeding the daily recommended amount of caffeine, including:

  • low birth weight
  • miscarriage

Caffeine travels through the umbilical cord and can affect your baby. You may notice that she becomes unsettled, or you notice an increase in movements, shortly after you drink a cup of coffee.

Alternatives to coffee
Decaffeinated coffee is an obvious replacement during pregnancy. You’ll still be able to enjoy the great flavour, and might even be able to fool yourself into thinking you’re drinking a regular coffee.

During pregnancy, your body needs a higher intake of water. By drinking more water to fight your thirst, you may also help yourself to avoid fluid retention, reduce dizziness and enjoy that famous pregnancy ‘glow’.

Giving up caffeine
If you have decided to give up coffee for the duration of your pregnancy, you may experience caffeine withdrawal for a few days. Symptoms include:

  • headaches
  • tiredness
  • irritability
  • difficulty concentrating

After a few days, these symptoms will subside and you should feel much better.

Do you have any tried and tested tips for reducing your coffee intake during pregnancy?

Written by Fiona, proud owner of a toddler, @fiona_peacock

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.