A few ounces are not a big deal in otherwise healthy, full-term babies, says lead study author Dr. Justin Konje, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Leicester, and are less than the deficits seen in babies of smokers. But in very small infants (say, 2 pounds), 5 ounces may significantly affect the baby's health.
The UK Food Standards Agency responded by reducing the recommended limit for caffeine intake in pregnancy from 300 mg to 200 mg per day. Guidelines in the U.S. are not that specific, although the March of Dimes says caffeine should be limited to 200 mg per day, based on a March study of 1,063 pregnant women by Kaiser Permanente researchers. It found that the risk of miscarriage doubled in women who consumed more than 200 mg, compared with those who consumed little to no caffeine.
Tea accounted for 60% of the caffeine consumed by women in the UK study, coffee for 14% and other items -- chocolate, soda, hot cocoa, energy drinks and over-the-counter medications -- for the remaining 26%. In the Kaiser Permanente study, 63% of the caffeine came from coffee.
"As an obstetrician, I would say better not to drink during the pregnancy," says Dr. Michael Ross, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. But if a woman celebrates her birthday with a drink, "that's probably going to have no detrimental effect at all."
Dr. Laura Riley, medical director of labor and delivery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, says she won't change her advice. She acknowledges that the new caffeine study is rigorous, but she doesn't believe a few ounces is anything to worry about.
As for alcohol, she tells patients, "Nine months is a very short period of time for abstinence."
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health@latimes.com
