Stop or Don’t Stop? That is the question…

If you are pregnant, or want to become pregnant, you may be asking yourself: “Should I stop drinking caffeine?”

The important thing to know is your baby cannot metabolize the stimulant known as caffeine because of their undeveloped digestive system.¹ Caffeine is absorbed by the adult stomach and small intestine within 45 minutes of consumption.² It is then metabolized through the liver with a portion of consumed caffeine being excreted unchanged through the urine. The biggest concern with caffeine which readily passes across to the placenta³ and then into the bloodstream of your baby. The portion that passes through creates many concerns, some of which will be described below, and others described throughout other posts we invite you to read.

Caffeine, being a stimulant, causes an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and breathing in all adults, and even your baby.⁴ Pregnancy also brings with it increased heart rate as your body makes more blood and prepares for the creation of your baby, so the added impact of caffeine intake could raise this particular vital sign even more. Caffeine can also cause acid reflux in some (especially with low quality coffee that is not organic.) With pregnancy, you are already more prone to acid reflux⁵, and even after childbirth. These simple side effects that impact you as a mom, can naturally impact your baby, too, creating a host of problems – both immediate and long-term. 

So, does it make sense to limit, or eliminate, caffeine if you are trying to conceive? Well, the answer is yes for you, and actually yes for your partner, too. Caffeine elimination is a perfect way to work together towards a common goal of creating the best possible scenario and situation for a healthy baby. Having a baby is a lifelong, shared commitment. This commitment to another life, and to one another, starts long before conception. A simple place to start is by encouraging one another to eliminate caffeine (which may be easier with the dimin. 10-Day Caffeine Detox program).  It has been studied and determined that high caffeine consumption by either partner can make conceiving more difficult. One particular study⁶ found that when you and your partner drink or consume more than two caffeinated drinks per day, for two weeks prior to conception and continuing for two weeks after, there is an increased risk of miscarriage. 

The good news here is: now you know. Knowledge is power! For you to have the highest likelihood of a healthy baby, the solution is simple. By detoxing from caffeine, and eliminating this stimulant, you are taking a big step towards ensuring that your body, your partner’s body, and your baby are all synergistically aligned at a level that will impact health and wellbeing forever. 

1. Grosso LM and Bracken MB (2005) Caffeine metabolism, genetics, and perinatal outcomes: a review of exposure assessment considerations during pregnancy. Ann. Epidemiol 15, 460–466
2. 1. Gonzalez de Mejia E and Ramirez-Mares MV (2014) Impact of caffeine and coffee on our health. Trends Endocrinol. Metab 25, 489–492
3. James JE Maternal caffeine consumption and pregnancy outcomes: a narrative review with implications for advice to mothers and mothers-to-be BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2021; 26:114-115.
4. Effects of regular and decaffeinated coffee on fetal breathing and heart rate. Salvador HS, Koos BJ. Am J Obstet. Gynecol. 1989;160:1043–1047.
5. Vazquez JC. Heartburn in pregnancy. BMJ Clin Evid. 2015 Sep 8;2015:1411. PMID: 26348641; PMCID: PMC4562453.
6. Germaine Buck Louis, Ph.D., director of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Couples’ pre-pregnancy caffeine consumption linked to miscarriage risk.