Saturday, July 11, 2009

Caffeine: to drink or not to drink

Well, we're almost at 3 months, just under in fact. It's been interesting so far, and doesn't always feel like I'm pregnant... just tired, or hungry, or the furthest thing from hungry.
Everything is going well so far. Yesterday I had my first caffinnated drink since finding out. Oh, I couldn't stand it! Patty was drinking a diet Pepsi and I just wanted to smell it; feel the bubbles and have a flavor in my system other than water. The table convinced me to grab a drink, so I got myself a Dr. Pepper. Delicious! ooohhh, so good. The below is from babycenter.com and slightly explains why I've avoided it:

There's general agreement that pregnant women and those trying to conceive should avoid consuming large quantities of caffeine. But after decades of controversy and conflicting evidence, there's still no real consensus on how much caffeine is safe during pregnancy.

The March of Dimes advises women to limit their caffeine intake to less than 200 mg per day. This recommendation was prompted by the results of a study published in the March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, showing that moms-to-be who consumed 200 mg or more of caffeine a day had double the risk of miscarriage compared to those who had no caffeine.

Not all studies show a link between caffeine consumption and a higher risk of miscarriage. Still, it may be smart to err on the side of caution and stick to the March of Dimes recommendation. (See chart below to get a sense of the caffeine content of various types of coffee, tea, and other common sources of caffeine.) And, of course, if you decide to cut out caffeine altogether, you won't get any arguments from your doctor or midwife.

I only said "slightly". My biggest fear right now is the M-word. I don't drink a lot of caffeine anyway, so partaking of any amount is "a lot" nowdays. Chris and I purchased a pregnancy tea the other day that contains no actual tea. It has peppermint and anise to help with stomach stuff; raspberry leaf to strengthen the uterus; and nettle to help with energy. I have no idea what nettle is, but it's better than caffeine, I guess. but it's a hot tea, which is not something I want in the hot weather. It'll be good for when it gets colder.

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