Caffeine in pregnancy

Until we know more about how caffeine can affect pregnancy, it’s best to limit the amount you get to 200 milligrams each day. This is about the amount in 1½ 8-ounce cups of coffee or one 12-ounce cup of coffee. Be sure to check the size of your cup to know how much caffeine you’re getting.

How Much Caffeine is Safe During Pregnancy?

If you have always relied on a morning coffee or energy drink, you might be wondering if those things are still okay to have while pregnant.

About 90% of people in the U.S. drink caffeine daily. Here at UNM, we agree with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Patients should consume less than 200 mg of caffeine during pregnancy.

One or two cups of coffee will put you at your daily limit. The average cup of coffee brewed at home has 95 mg of caffeine. But the amount will depend on the brand and size. Always check how much caffeine is in each serving.

Not all caffeinated drinks are safe for pregnant people. Doctors and midwives do not recommend energy drinks to anyone during pregnancy. Energy drinks contain a lot of caffeine and many other ingredients that could be unsafe for pregnant people.

Let’s discuss what drinks and foods contain caffeine and why it’s important to watch how much you have during pregnancy.

What Foods and Drinks Have Caffeine

Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in plants like tea leaves and coffee beans. It can also be made in a lab. Caffeine comes in common foods and drinks such as:

• Chocolate
• Coffee
• Coffee-containing foods like ice cream or yogurt
• Energy bars (sports bars)
• Energy drinks
• Pre-workout powders
• Soda
• Tea
• Yerba mate

Be sure to check food and drink labels for caffeine. During pregnancy, caffeine and other chemicals can cross the placenta and affect the pregnancy.

Here is a quick guide to how much caffeine one 8-ounce cup of coffee or tea contains on average:

• Brewed coffee = 96 mg
• Brewed decaf coffee = 2 mg
• Brewed black tea = 47 mg
• Brewed green tea = 28 mg
• Espresso = 64 mg

Many of these drinks contain a lot of extra sugar, too, which is not healthy for you or your pregnancy.

Problems from Drinking too Much Caffeine

During pregnancy, it takes up to three times longer for caffeine to leave your bloodstream. You could be more sensitive to its effects as a result. For example, your morning coffee could keep you awake at night.

The effects of caffeine on pregnancy are not well understood. Some studies say that too much caffeine can put your pregnancy at risk. Problems with too much caffeine can include:

• Miscarriage
• Gestational diabetes
• Having children with behavioral or attention problems
• Having children with a low birthweight
• High blood pressure (preeclampsia)

You are higher risk for problems with caffeine if you have certain health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol. Caffeine can also interfere with some medications, such as mental health drugs or medicines for HIV/AIDS.

Talk with your doctor or midwife if you feel any of these side effects from drinking too much caffeine:

• Anxiety
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Heartburn
• Higher body temperature
• Irritability
• Nausea
• Rapid heartbeat
• Restlessness
• Sleeplessness
• Trembling hands

Drinking caffeine will make you need to urinate more. This will reduce the amount of fluid in your body. So, be sure to drink plenty of water after having caffeine.

Keep Your Energy Up Safely in Pregnancy

Hormone changes in pregnancy can make you feel tired. Instead of drinking more coffee, talk with your doctor or midwife. We can recommend safe alternatives to caffeine such as:

• Adjusting exercise plans: We can help you determine if you are exercising enough or too much at any state of pregnancy.
• Changing your schedule: Allow yourself to say “no” to added responsibilities and new plans.
• Eating a healthy diet: We can check whether you are getting enough of the right calories, prenatal vitamins and nutrients to feel energized.
• Getting more rest: Give yourself permission to sleep in, nap, and rest whenever possible.

Make sure to skip caffeine after lunchtime if you have a hard time sleeping during pregnancy. Though caffeine can help you feel more alert and awake, it cannot give you more energy.

Your health is our top priority. Call your doctor or midwife if you are concerned about how much caffeine is safe during pregnancy. We are always here to answer your questions!

Caffeine in pregnancy

Caffeine is a drug found in things like coffee, tea, soda, chocolate and some energy drinks and medicines. It’s a stimulant, which means it can keep you awake.

How does caffeine affect you and your baby during pregnancy?

Caffeine slightly increases your blood pressure and heart rate and the amount of urine your body makes. Caffeine may cause you to feel jittery, have indigestion or have trouble sleeping. During pregnancy, you may be especially sensitive to caffeine because it may take you longer to clear it from your body than if you weren’t pregnant. It may also make you feel nauseous or lightheaded.

When you have caffeine during pregnancy, it passes through the placenta to your baby. The placenta grows in your uterus (womb) and supplies the baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord.

You may have heard that too much caffeine can cause miscarriage (when a baby dies in the womb before 20 weeks of pregnancy), preterm birth (birth that happens before 37 weeks of pregnancy is completed) or low birth weight (when your baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces). Some studies say this is true, and others don’t.

Until we know more about how caffeine can affect pregnancy, it’s best to limit the amount you get to 200 milligrams each day. This is about the amount in 1½ 8-ounce cups of coffee or one 12-ounce cup of coffee. Be sure to check the size of your cup to know how much caffeine you’re getting.

What foods and drinks contain caffeine?

Caffeine is found in:

• Coffee and coffee-flavored products, like yogurt and ice cream
• Tea
• Some soft drinks
• Energy drinks
• Chocolate and chocolate products, like chocolate syrup and hot cocoa
• Some medicines

The amount of caffeine in foods and drinks varies a lot. For coffee and tea, the amount of caffeine depends on:

• The brand
• How it’s prepared
• The type of beans or leaves used
• The way it’s served (for example, as espresso or latte)
• The size of the cup. Not all coffee cups are the same size, even though you think of them as a cup. Check to see how many ounces your cup has, especially if you’re buying a cup of coffee or tea. If you’re making coffee or tea at home, measure to check the size of the cup.

Some energy drinks contain large amounts of caffeine. For example, a 24-ounce energy drink may have up to 500 milligrams of caffeine. Energy drinks may have a lot of sugar, too, and they may contain ingredients that may be harmful to your baby during pregnancy. Because we don’t know a lot about all the ingredients in energy drinks, it’s best not to have them when you’re pregnant.

The amount of caffeine you get from food and drinks throughout the day adds up. So if you have a cup of coffee in the morning, you may want to limit or give up having other food and drinks during the day that have caffeine.

The list below shows the amount of caffeine in common food and drinks. The caffeine amounts are averages, so they may change depending on the brand or how the food or drink is made. Check the package label on food and drinks to know how much caffeine they contain.

What medicines contain caffeine?

Some medicines used for pain relief, migraine headaches, colds and to help keep you awake contain caffeine. The Food and Drug Administration (also called FDA) requires that labels on medicine list the amount of caffeine in the medicine.

If you’re pregnant, talk to your health care provider before taking any medicine that contains caffeine. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicine. A prescription is an order for medicine given by a health care provider. You can buy over-the-counter medicine, like pain relievers and cold medicine, without a prescription.

Some herbal products contain caffeine. These include guarana, yerba mate, kola nut and green tea extract. Herbal products are made from herbs, which are plants that are used in cooking and for medicine. The FDA does not require that herbal products have a label saying how much caffeine they contain. If you’re pregnant, don’t use herbal products because we don’t know how much caffeine they contain.

Is caffeine safe during breastfeeding?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says it’s safe for breastfeeding moms to have caffeine. A small amount of caffeine does get into breast milk, so limit caffeine if you’re breastfeeding. Breastfed babies of women who drink more than 2 to 3 cups of coffee a day may become fussy or have trouble sleeping. You may want to drink less caffeine if your baby was born preterm or newborn because she may digest caffeine more slowly.

Last reviewed: April 2020