Caffeine

sara052420

Hi yall! Just curious what everyones view on caffeine during pregnancy is? My doctor said a serving a day is okay, but I was just curious what everyone else thought on the subject? I personally was a huge soda drinker before pregnancy, i've cut down to one serving a day like the doctor said to but I think I may cut it out all together. Thanks for your input & no judgement please

lanea8712

I agree with ur dr. That's the same thing everyone (dr and nurse wise) has told me also. When I first found out I was preg I did give it up completely until about the third month in, when I started drinking Some ... Mostly when I would get a headache.

amh04

My OB said no more than 200 mg a day. Which is one serving - I tend to keep it at 60-70mg if I have caffine during the day.

jobiann

I didn't drink much caffeine at all before pregnancy so it's been pretty easy for me especially since I'm only a winter coffee drinker. But I am getting really annoyed with water lately (which I previously LOVED) so I'll break it up with a caffeine free rootbeer or a Sprite, some light lemonade or something. I think I've taken a few sips of my DH's Dr. Pepper if we are out eating and I've had a few raspberry teas.

mlangs

I still have 1 a day... today has been a crappy day so I am on #2... still less than the max of 300mg a day, so I don't feel awful cheating sometimes.

DelBride2012

I also count mgs to stay under 300.

"One serving" of caffeine could mean some wildly variable things, so definitely look up the caffeine content of your go-to sodas/coffees/whatever.

tiffmatt

Caffeine should be limited but doesn't need to be cut out entirely.  This time around I cut out caffeine completely, but that's a personal choice.  After two back to back losses I wanted to feel like I was doing everything in my power to give this LO the best chance.  For me, cutting caffeine is one part of it.  As it is, I only allow myself 1 non-water beverage a day.  I have about 3/4 a can of caffeine free coca-cola a couple times a week and some all natural caffeine free sodas.  Not easy, but it works.  The important thing is to do what you feel is best for the baby because at the end of the day you are the one living with any consequences.

sara052420

omg i feel like a huge idiot, i never even thought to ask how much one serving was or looking at how much was in my soda!  wow.. i'm really glad i asked this! Thanks ladies!!

ashtonblair123

I go with the view that you shouldn't change your lifestyle too much. Caffeine is my vice. I don't smoke, drink alcohol, I gave up sushi etc.

I left my caffeine the way it is. However, caffeinated drinks dehydrate you so I do up my water intake. Your supposed to drink an extra oz of water per oz of caffeinated beverage.

Megroons

ashtonblair123:

I go with the view that you shouldn't change your lifestyle too much. Caffeine is my vice. I don't smoke, drink alcohol, I gave up sushi etc.

I left my caffeine the way it is. However, caffeinated drinks dehydrate you so I do up my water intake. Your supposed to drink an extra oz of water per oz of caffeinated beverage.

mben1119

I drank a cup of coffee every morning, and a soda at lunch every single day during my pregnancy. I never drank more than 300 mg of caffeine, so I wasn't worried at all.  That said, I also drank a glass of wine a week in my 3rd trimester and ate lunchmeat!

Kie310

I didn't change my intake. I drink 2-3 cans a day of diet soda.

BettyBookworm

amh04:

My OB said no more than 200 mg a day. Which is one serving - I tend to keep it at 60-70mg if I have caffine during the day.

I agree with this. Some caffeine is fine, but like everything. Keep it in moderation. 

cutemary007

I gave it up completely for the first trimester. Personal choice. I was an avid coffee drinker and worried about miscarriage and etc.

Now I'm in the 2nd tri...I still give it up "mostly". No longer a daily coffee drinker. I only have an occasional sip of pop and a cup of coffee once a week or longer.

Again...personal choice. I think its totally fine if you stay under the rec dosage. I limited mine because it was easy to do for me and I'm higher risk.

LissaLee

I still drink 1-2 glasses of Dt Pepsi per day. I tried my darndest to give it up with my first but I apparently have no willpower.

jessican08

I cut out caffeine completely when I started my IVF cycle and haven't picked it back up but I certainly don't judge anyone who partakes in a moderate amount of caffeine during their PG - it's perfectly fine in moderation.

hmontty

Most docs say one cup is OK. Keep in mind though that this means literally one cup (as in one cup liquid measure), not one MUG or one CAN.

However, I choose not to consume caffeine at all. Yeah, one cup is "OK," but to me, that means none at all is better.

I do eat chocolate, but that has such a small amount that I don't worry about it. I drink decaf coffee and get along just fine.

 

hmontty

Kie310:

I didn't change my intake. I drink 2-3 cans a day of diet soda.

Yikes! I'd be more worried about the artificial sweeteners than the caffeine! Scary!!

myatala

I wasn't an everyday caffeinated beverage drinker in the months before this pregnancy, and I still don't have something caffeinated every day, but I usually don't have more than one caffeinated drink (an iced tea, or iced chai latte, or iced mocha, 12oz or so) on the days I partake, and will sometimes opt for a decaf version if there's one available that will taste the same to me, since I'm choosing those beverages for flavor, not caffeine so much.

ChristyML

MandJS:

I drink just as much as I did pre-pregnancy. It's roughly one cup of a coffee a day, but if I feel like a soda or something, I don't NOT get one. 

This except I cut a lot out in January (not for a resolution, just because I felt like it). I wasn't pregnant at the time though. I had huge cravings for Diet Pepsi earlier in my 2nd trimester, and was drinking a lot of it a day. I haven't had one in weeks. I personally am not worried about it, since I have stopped craving the Diet Pepsi. 

AimeeL85

With my first pregnancy I had literally 0. Pre-pregnancy I drank a lot (diet soda) and just felt like I had to cut it out altogether, so I didn't drink any at all (I didn't follow all the rules, I ate lunchmeat like it was going out of style).

However, with this pregnancy I feel different for some reason, and I allow myself 2 servings a day max. I would say most days I still don't have any, but I do allow it. 

I remember when I went to the hospital at 36 weeks last time for a headache (had preeclampsia and was instructed to go right away if I did get a headache). I had taken Tylenol all day and it hadn't done anything. At the hospital they gave me something that was basically Tylenol with caffeine in it, and bam, headache was gone.  Still works like a charm!

this decaf life

Even though I work at Starbucks I didn't drink much before pregnancy because I never felt the need to drink it. Usually it just makes me super irritable & my heart starts racing so it's been easy for me to avoid it. I have avoided it [almost] completely. I've had the occasional mini Coke when I start getting a migraine but that's it & it's only about 25-30 mg of caffeine.

I think one cup of coffee or a drink with the equivalent of 2 shots of espresso a day is fine but I personally don't do caffeine.

SNBelland

Megroons:

ashtonblair123:

I go with the view that you shouldn't change your lifestyle too much. Caffeine is my vice. I don't smoke, drink alcohol, I gave up sushi etc.

I left my caffeine the way it is. However, caffeinated drinks dehydrate you so I do up my water intake. Your supposed to drink an extra oz of water per oz of caffeinated beverage.

ME TOO  

susanmosley

hmontty:

Most docs say one cup is OK. Keep in mind though that this means literally one cup (as in one cup liquid measure), not one MUG or one CAN.

However, I choose not to consume caffeine at all. Yeah, one cup is "OK," but to me, that means none at all is better.

I do eat chocolate, but that has such a small amount that I don't worry about it. I drink decaf coffee and get along just fine.

 

FTR, one "CAN" of Coca Cola, for example, has 35 mg of caffeine.  So I think "one CAN" is well within the limits of being perfectly safe for a healthy pregnancy.  Honestly, besides the excess sugar, I think five cans in a day would be fine.  Caffeine varies greatly from caffeinated beverage to caffeinated beverage, so not every "one cup" is created equally.  

CurlyQ284

I drink one diet coke per day which has well below the 200 mg caffeine but my doctor said if Im going diet I shouldnt drink a whole lot more because of the unknown effects of aspertame but I guess if it was regular soda I could have more.

hpoff33

No change here at any point in my pregnancy.  I usually have about 16 oz of tea every morning.  On the days I have coffee I limit it to about one and a half cups.  I come from English stock and am pretty sure that all the mothers in my family drank pots of tea while pregnant.  So I might be a little more lax than some others. 

MelleTX

I too was given the recommendation of staying under 200 mg per day. 

I usually have one cup of coffee each morning, but I never finish the cup so I am probably only drinking about 4-6 oz.  

I made the switch to Caffeine-free Diet Coke at home and have one of those per day as well.  

If I go out for lunch or dinner, I will occasionally have an iced- tea instead of water.

And once in a blue moon, I crave a fountain diet coke from McDonalds, so I indulge.