Good news for pregnant coffee lovers: Consuming a low amount of caffeine during pregnancy could help to reduce gestational diabetes risk, according to researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. The findings are published in JAMA Network Open.
“While we were not able to study the association of consumption above the recommended limit, we now know that low-to-moderate caffeine is not associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, or hypertension for expecting mothers,” says the study’s lead author Stefanie Hinkle, an assistant professor of epidemiology.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that pregnant women limit their caffeine consumption to less than 200 mg (about two, six-ounce cups) per day. The recommendations are based on studies that suggest potential associations with pregnancy loss and fetal growth at higher caffeine levels. However, there remains limited data on the link between caffeine and maternal health outcomes.
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