If you’ve been around me, either online or in person, for at least a year, you’d assume that I love coffee.
And you’d mostly be right. I love the aroma of coffee. I love its warmth. I love its jolt in the morning and I love the mug it comes in. I love that taking a sip requires a few moments to oneself, which is entirely evident as my coffee usually gets cold before I have a chance to completely consume it. I love that coffee provides a great catalyst for a meeting of like-minds or friendly hearts. I love that coffee never needs to be the same but it can be.
The taste? Well, that took me a while to even start mildly enjoying.
But it doesn’t matter. I am addicted to everything else about this decoction.
But I gave it all up. And I think that deserves an explanation.
Sure, I can take the easy out. I’m pregnant. But I tend to get frustrated with the all or nothing crowd when it comes to pregnancy and baby rearing. “I won’t eat any seafood while pregnant!” – “You mean you’re not having a natural childbirth?” – “I will only ever feed my baby organic!” – “I can’t believe you’d even consider disposable diapers!” – … – “Coffee is bad for your unborn baby!” Women can be so competitive and we use petty personal choices to feel superior while destroying relationships.
So the “I am not drinking coffee because I’m pregnant” reasoning just won’t cut it. Because, according to doctors, a little bit of caffeine is fine during pregnancy. In fact, pregnant women in Canada are suggested to limit their caffeine intake to 300mg of caffeine a day. This equals about two mugs of coffee, which is actually more than I usually drink in a day. So I would never start preaching that caffeine should be completely avoiding during pregnancy.
But here is another consideration.
Some studies have shown that caffeine doubles the risk of miscarriage.
Women who drink even moderate amounts of caffeine during pregnancy — whether from coffee, tea, caffeinated soft drinks or hot chocolate — have almost double the risk of miscarriage compared to women who stay away from such drinks. (source)
What is interesting is that this article ends with “Our advice is to be moderate. Drink two to three cups a day, max”. So doctors and scientists still aren’t telling women to cut coffee out altogether. And therefore I can’t do it either.
But I did make the decision for me. Because after two miscarriages, I wanted to reduce any risks as much as I possibly could. (Which meant, of course, that as soon as I stopped drinking my coffee, everyone knew I was pregnant.)
But boy oh boy! am I ever missing coffee. Especially during these past couple of weeks as I returned to my work routine after a two week vacation. Yawn. I am finding myself sneaking off to Starbucks to get a tall half-caf latte (which means I am just half cheating) or searching through our basket of k-cups to find the very last of the decaf. I am twenty-five weeks into my pregnancy and I miss coffee!
The only way I am getting through this is reminding myself that this is my opportunity to enjoy hot chocolate. Though I miss coffee while pregnant, I often miss fancy hot chocolate when I am not pregnant and trying to watch my weight. So if you see me sitting at my kitchen table at 6am reading my bible, or walking to work with a Starbucks in my hand, or turning on my desk-Keurig for a cuppa, you can assume I’m wishing for coffee, but am probably enjoying something equally delicious, but less energizing.
And if you catch me falling to sleep in the middle of my day, you’ll understand why.
What are your opinions on caffeine and pregnancy? Did you stop drinking coffee while pregnant? Did you limit your intake? Do you look down on pregnant women who continue to drink coffee?
I did all the research and determined one cup a day was enough to keep me sane and my baby-to-be safe. I did so much to be healthy while pregnant– eating the healthiest I ever have, daily yoga, drinking tons of water, absolutely no alcohol– so I figured a cup of coffee was not going to hurt. :)
I think you are right – a cup of coffee a day doesn’t hurt, which is why I don’t like to tell people I’ve stopped drinking coffee because I am pregnant.
Also, I am super impressed with your healthy pregnancy regimen. I get pregnant and I stop running, get off Weight Watchers, enjoy all those Thanksgiving and Christmas and eventually Valentine’s Day treats… Still no alcohol though!
Laura recently posted..Decaffeinated
My dearest friend lost two babies to miscarriage before giving birth to her oldest daughter and two more afterward. During each pregnancy that followed the first miscarriage, she did everything by that big imaginary and all-knowing book, which included giving up her best friend, coffee. It wasn’t until the doctors sorted out what was going on (a clotting disorder, which was combatted with medication) and she was pregnant with her youngest daughter, that I believe she drank the occasional cup. By then, she knew the reason for her miscarriages and knew that coffee wasn’t the culprit.
I, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to have not suffered that kind of loss (at least, not a loss of which am completely certain, though I have my suspicions), but chose to limit my intake to one cup a day. And once the boy was born, I switched to decaf, so that I didn’t have a tiny, wide-awake tyrant in my arms after a feeding. For me, though, the coffee has always been more about the flavour than the caffeine. Though today, I think the cup I get is going to be about the caffeine.
Steph VW recently posted..Christmas 2011 – and Plans For 2012
I didn’t really start drinking coffee with any seriousness until after Cameron was born and I was on maternity leave. Before that I would have the occasional cup, or enjoy a latte (a very very sweet one). So, for me, it really was about the caffeine when I first started drinking it. Thankfully, Cameron wasn’t someone who seemed to be affected by caffeine through my breast milk (though I did slowly ease into drinking it).
I had no real tests after my miscarriages other than blood tests, most of which were just to determine that I was definitely not pregnant still. So I don’t think I will ever have the answers. In my very logical brain, I know that having some caffeine shouldn’t be a big deal, but I can’t help feeling a little superstitious about it, especially since I drank coffee during the two pregnancies I lost and not really any this pregnancy, or even with Cameron’s now that I think about it.
Laura recently posted..Decaffeinated
I am at 35 weeks now and still drinking a coffee a day the dr told me the withdrawl from it was worse than drinking it so I never gave it up. I was a tea drinker when I had my miscarriages and they were not ever attributed to it so every morning I wake up and enjoy a lovely cup of coffee without guilt :)
Good for you! You shouldn’t feel guilty when you have your morning coffee! I probably shouldn’t either, (and all these comments are making me feel that indulging once in a while wouldn’t be a terrible thing), but I didn’t get any answers about why I miscarried. And while I did drink coffee with those pregnancies I haven’t with this one or, really, with Cameron’s. So I have a bit of superstition about the whole thing, despite my knowing that it will probably be fine.
Also, how am I not following you on Twitter. I rectified that right away!
Laura recently posted..Decaffeinated
I didn’t even know I was pregnant until I was almost 3 months along, so I didn’t do anything differently caffeine wise. Now that we’re TTC again, I’m a little more conscious of my caffeine intake. I drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning and 1 soda during the day during the 2ww to be on the safe side. When I find out I’m pregnant, I’ll probably cut out one or the other. Just as a precaution. I don’t think there’s a such thing as being too safe, but I do think that it’s something up the discretion of the mom. :)
Courtney Kirkland recently posted..Things I Wish I Could Say
Thinking back to my pregnancy with Cameron, I don’t think I was much of a coffee drinker then. It all really started with the exhaustion that having a baby brings I think! :) Which explains my current situation: I KNOW that drinking coffee should be fine, assuming I limit it, but the notion of being better safe than sorry keeps popping into my head. I drank coffee with the two miscarriages, and not with the two that have (so far) gone smoothly.
But, man, could I ever use a cup!
Laura recently posted..Decaffeinated
I’m all about the coffee, anytime :) Enjoy your lattes.
Thanks Jane! I will. I have a plan to get one on my way to work tomorrow to celebrate it being Friday. And after seeing how ok everyone else seems to be with caffeine and pregnancy, I might not even make it half-caf.
Laura recently posted..Decaffeinated
I still drank it – drink it – all through both pregnancies and while nursing. I usually never drink more than one a day anyway, occasionally two. I LOVE it. I justify it by only buying organic and not putting sugar in it. That way it’s healthy… right?
Emily recently posted..So Blessed
Totally healthy… er. ;) I give up hot chocolate when I’m trying to be healthy, but stick with coffee. Assuming it can be drank black (which is how I drink it), it has no effect on my Weight Watchers points tally for the day. Sure, it doesn’t mean it is the HEALTHIEST thing I could be drinking, and I certainly wouldn’t use it to hydrate on a run, but it is nice.
I plan to start drinking it again when I’m nursing – or at least test it out. I am worried that by not drinking it now, my baby will get totally wired when I drink it while he’s nursing. I’d like another child who doesn’t seem to be affected by it please! :)
Laura recently posted..Decaffeinated
I got a K-Cup coffee maker for Christmas and about 1/2 dozen de-cafe coffees, which I don’t drink. Was going to give them to you but when I went to dig them out they were all gone. I guess Meghan has been drinking Dr-cafe. Good luck on the coffee detox.
Christopher D Drew recently posted..Legacy
Thanks Christopher! But no worries – I have a *few* here left at the office. And I could use another trip to Tweed and Hickory to pick up some more fun decaf options. PLUS, if Meghan hadn’t drank them (which she is totally allowed), it is great to have some decaf cups at home for when you have guests. That is the reason we got decaf for our machine in the first place! :)
Laura recently posted..In the Delivery Room
Good point, I guess I just may have to pick up a few more.
Christopher D Drew recently posted..Legacy