Caffeine yes/no?

lizpitts1988

Can any veteran moms help shed some light on the caffeine debate? I am a first time mom currently seven weeks and REALLY miss my morning cup of coffee. The exhaustion is real and coffee seems to be the only thing that helps. Is one cup of coffee honestly that bad? 

gollygeeitsamy

It is recommended that you limit caffeine but 1 cup of coffee a day should be fine. It’s recommended to limit to 150-300mg of caffeine during pregnancy. There is approximately 95-165mg in an 8oz cup (depending on blend). I drank coffee during my first pregnancy and my DD is fine. I’m switching over to decaf because my heart rate increases during pregnancy and caffeine effects that too. 

harpseal135

My doctor told me a cup of coffee or a can of Coke (which I inquired about) a day would be fine. 

lizpitts1988

Thank you!! I feel so guilty drinking it but at the same time it helps so much with the symptoms. 

gollygeeitsamy

@lizpitts1988 don’t feel guilty! The fatigue during the 1st trimester is SO hard. 

DanyTargaryen

My OB said coffee was fine, as long as you try to limit TOTAL caffeine intake to 200mg a day. So you need to include coffee, tea, sodas, chocolate, etc in your assessment of how much you've had in a day, but you definitely don't need to give it up completely.

In fact, I started getting migraines first tri and mentioned to my OB nurse that I noticed they happened if I went a few days without coffee and she confirmed that there was no reason to give it up (I had just been skipping days where it had been making me nauseated).

galactickates

My Dr said that caffeine study is based on the results after rats were given 8 cups of coffee... she told me if I want to have a cup of coffee it's fine.