Coffee and Tea During Pregnancy Affect Fetal Growth

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130311101649.htm

sciencedaily.com | Mar 11th 2013

Drinking just two cups of coffee a day is associated with the risk of low birth weight. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have conducted a study on 59,000 women in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Expectant mothers who consume caffeine, usually by drinking coffee, are more likely to have babies with lower birth weight than anticipated, given their gestational age. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, conducted a study on 59,000 pregnant Norwegian women in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

"The correlation between intake of caffeine and fetal growth was established even among women who followed the official recommendation that they limit caffeine consumption to 200 milligrams a day (two cups of coffee)," researcher Verena Sengpiel says.

The medical term used in this connection is "small for gestational age" (SGA), which is associated with an elevated risk of morbidity and death.

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