British experts advise pregnant women to drink less coffee

This is a red coffee fruit grown in the Kafa Mountains of southwestern Ethiopia. Coffee is a part of Ethiopian life. It is said that coffee was first discovered by shepherds in the Kafa Mountains of Ethiopia, and the name of coffee evolved from "Kafa". Photo taken by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiong Sihao

British researchers have found that excessive caffeine intake by pregnant women increases the chances of giving birth to underweight babies.

Based on the findings, the Food Standards Agency will reduce the recommended caffeine intake for pregnant women this week, advising them to drink no more than two cups of coffee a day.

New discovery

Researchers at the University of Leeds and the University of Leicester surveyed 2500 pregnant women and asked them to answer questions about their daily caffeine intake, the Daily Mail reported on the 2nd. Experts compared the data with the baby's birth weight, taking into account the mother's weight and ethnic background.

Women who consume more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day are more likely to give birth to underweight babies, the study found.

Even consuming slightly less caffeine than recommended by the Food Standards Agency can have an adverse effect on pregnant women, a researcher said.

Caffeine not only reduces the birth weight of babies, but also increases the rate of spontaneous abortion in pregnant women. If the gestational age is not enough, the children born are more likely to have mental retardation and ADHD later in life.

The findings will be published in the British Medical Journal Weekly on the 5th.

Change the standard

After studying the results, the British Food Standards Agency believes that although the current limit for pregnant women's daily caffeine intake is only 300 milligrams, it is still too much for pregnant women.

The Bureau of Standards will reduce the daily intake limit of caffeine for pregnant women to 200 milligrams. This is equivalent to up to 2 large cups of instant coffee or 2 small cups of roasted coffee, 4 cups of tea, 5 cans of cola, 3 bottles of energy drinks or 5 bars of chocolate a day.

However, this standard cannot be generalized.

Some coffee shops sell coffee with high levels of caffeine, the report said. For example, a small Starbucks latte contains 240 milligrams of caffeine. Pregnant women only need one drink to exceed the newly adjusted daily limit; a new generation of functional drinks, such as Spike Shooter, contain 300mg of caffeine in one bottle.

Andrew Vicky, chief scientist of the Food Standards Agency, said: "this is a new suggestion, but not a new danger." I would like to reassure pregnant women that if they have accepted these recommendations, the risk will be very small. "

There are many problems.

Britain has the second highest incidence of underweight newborns in Western Europe, the Daily Mail said.

In 1989, 67 out of every 10,000 babies in the UK were underweight. By 2006, that number had risen to 78. In other words, 40,000 babies in the UK alone are underweight.

A US study published earlier this year in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that caffeine intake of more than 200 milligrams a day doubled the risk of miscarriage.

Pat O'Brien, a physician at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said pregnant women should abstain from caffeine in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. "this is a period when the fetus is very vulnerable and is most likely to miscarry," said Pat O'Brien, a physician at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.