Are people really cutting out caffeine completely?

psychgal · July 2010

Something someone posted made me wonder if people are completely cutting out caffeine. I was under the impression that you could have a moderate amount of caffeine during pregnancy. For me, that means I'll usually have a cup of home brewed coffee in the morning (I rarely finish the whole thing) and maybe a diet soda at night. Or, if my boss wants, I'll go get a small coffee at Starbucks in the afternoon (mainly so I don't have to answer questions about why I'm not drinking coffee anymore.) I definitely won't do more than two caffeinated drinks in a day. I personally don't know if I could completely go the whole pregnancy without caffeine, so I was just wondering.

ejlynch · July 2010

I have pretty much cut it out completely. I use to drink coffee each morning but since getting my BFP and stopped cold turkey. I will have a bit of chocolate or a hot chocolate here and there. I never was a bit soda drinker to begin with, so I've cut that out. I'm sure I'm getting a bit of caffine each day but not a whole lot. I'm sure you'll be fine with what your doing.

YouandMe912 · July 2010

No, there's no way I can!! I switched to half caf in the morning and very rarely I'll have a diet coke later either because I'm eating out or out with friends and didn't want them to know yet.

I read that you can have up to a certain amount. I believe it's the same amount as 2 20oz soda's.

Brittanie_1987 · July 2010

I drink a cup of regular coffee every morning...same as before BFP. I'm pretty sure it is fine in moderation.

Cristin23 · July 2010

I used to drink Mountain Dew almost every day-except for a few sips of my husbands- I don't drink it anymore.

I have a little chocolate now and then-but right now I'm not "feeling" chocolate-so I haven't had it for a while.

I'm trying to eat healthy, but right now, I'll I want are raviolis, so I'm cutting back on other "bad" stuff.

MelCfromMN · July 2010

You may want to cut back just a little, expecially if you're doing one cup in the morning and a Starbucks in the afternoon, or just get decaff at Starbucks. They say 200-300 mg per day is ok (5 Diet Cokes, but you shouldn't have that much artificial sweetners). One cup of regular coffee is about 200 mg. If anyone asks, I just say I'm trying to cut back my caffeine addiction.

chicsub · July 2010

With DS I cut it out completely in the 1st trimester and tried to reintroduce it in 2nd, but it made me too jittery. I'm still mostly doing decaf now, but will have some caffeine every now and then, but not a daily thing. I saw the studies about 300 mg. being safe, but also that smaller increments still showed some risk, so I figured I'd cut it out in 1st tri for my peace of mind. I'm not like that with everything, but I was with caffeine for some reason, go figure!

crossedxfingers · July 2010

It's rare I drink caffeine in the first place - so I figure if I stick with my same habits I should be fine.

Twinkz · July 2010

The only caffeine I really drank prior to BFP was tea. My Ob was very laid back about everything, said soft cheeses are fine, deli meat, all that stuff (well no raw meat or seafood) the only thing he was firm on was caffeine. He said less than the equivalent of one can of soda a day for the first trimester.

So until the second trimester I likely won't drink tea either.

chary412 · July 2010

I've cut it out completely, but I'm not judging anyone who doesn't.

I'm going with the theory that higher cortisol (stress) levels during pregnancy leads to crankier babies, and caffeine raises cortisol levels. I'll find out how it's worked in 8 months!

ermimac · July 2010

I've pretty much cut it out drinking wise. I have had maybe 2 cups of coffee and one or two sodas with caffeine. But I figure it's in enough that I eat so I have definitely limited it.

jayellekay · July 2010

I tried...but I couldn't give it up completely. Now I have approximately a 20-oz diet soda every other day or so. I'm not a coffee drinker at all, so I don't have to contend with coffee cravings. Sometimes if I'm craving the "fizz" and not just wanting the caffeine, I'll have a sprite or something instead.

mrsbmw09 · July 2010

At first I quit drinking it totally, but then I realized that Coke helps my nausea and queasiness better than anything else, so I drink some whenever I feel crappy. I try not to get too much, but I'm not overly concerned about it either. I drink caffeine free when DH reminds me.

jennadele · July 2010

I was told by my doctor not to exceed about 200 mg of caffeine a day, which is equal to approx. 2 cups of coffee. During my first pregnancy, I stuck to one cup at home in the morning, and a small cup of coffee at Starbucks, and I am doing the same for my second pregnancy. I had no complications. I think you are okay if you have some caffeine, as long as you feel well and your doctor okays it.

I also thought I recently saw a study that was done about the effects of caffeine in early pregnancy, and the study stated that bad effects from caffeine occur in women whose intake exceeds six cups a day....that's a lot of caffeine!

Meehanbride · July 2010

I rarely ever drink caffeine anyway. My regular soda is Sprite and I am not a coffee or tea drinker so it was easy for me.

mrsjanks · July 2010

chary412:
I've cut it out completely, but I'm not judging anyone who doesn't. I'm going with the theory that higher cortisol (stress) levels during pregnancy leads to crankier babies, and caffeine raises cortisol levels. I'll find out how it's worked in 8 months!

Interesting. I do know that cortisol levels are increased by stress, and higher cortisol equals more deposition of fat in the stomach and thigh areas. I didn't know that caffeine raises cortisol.

I'm the opposite of you, though. Caffeine gets rid of my headaches, so it lowers my stress levels.

I'm drinking a can every other day or so.

RayRay007 · July 2010

No way am I completely giving up my coffee! While ttgp I cut back a bit, and have cut back a bit more since the bfp, but I still have about 1/2 cup while getting ready in the morning and another cup mid-morning. Once in a while I'll have a soda or some chocolate (maybe once or twice a week between the two of them), but I'm not consciously trying to cut that out.

eminlima · July 2010

No way! I'm limiting it to 200 mg/day. My OB said one cup/day and everywhere I've read says up to 200 mg is fine. I feel like caffeine gets me through the day-- I used to drink coffee in the morning and a diet soda in the afternoon. Unfortunately this week coffee and soda both started seeming disgusting-- no interest at all in drinking either one. I need to find something else to drink in the morning to wake up! (And getting tons of sleep hasn't helped)

TaraC9474 · July 2010

i had no plans of cutting it out.... i had been having home brewed in the am and a small cup in the pm. if you told me 2 weeks ago that i wouldn't want to touch the stuff at this point i would have told you to get your head checked. after M/S kicked in, the only thing i can get down is maybe a half a cup of tea.

stacylu · July 2010

I cut it out completely after finding out I was PG with DD. I never added it back in. With her, I didn't want her to have the caffeine withdrawals that I had! They were wicked.

Dr.Omega · July 2010

Be careful with the Starbucks. One 12 oz. SB coffee has ~ 2-3x the amount of caffeine as other places (like over 300mg). Personally, I wouldn't even get something half-caf there.

I drink ~12oz of half-caf coffee a day that I make at home and bring with me on my commute.

myst33 · July 2010

I've cut it out, but I stopped for my 1st pg in Feb that ended in a m/c. In the time between this pg and that one, I just decided to cut it out. It was partly for pg reasons and partly for health reasons. I was using a ton of sugar in my coffee and obviously soda has tons of sugar and is bad for you. At this point, I don't miss coffee, but occassionally I will want a coke. I know that if I have one, though, I will begin drinking it regularly again. I don't want to do that.

justme9 · July 2010

No way! I still have my cup of coffee in the morning. But, I have cut out my daily cup of caffeinated tea and the rare diet soda I had.

skio · July 2010

I've been trying to cut it out completely. From what I've heard, caffeine is fine if you keep it under 300mg/day. But I also read some studies that totally freaked me out. So, I'm following the general mantra of less = better.

In the first couple weeks, it was impossible. I either had a half-caf or a cup of tea in the afternoon to ward off headaches. But I've been caffeine-free for almost a whole week. I think I might need a little something later, though. When I get a headache, a good shot of caffeine is the only thing that'll kick it.

Laurakat81 · July 2010

I have cut it out completely. It simply makes me feel better. After my loss I had alot of what ifs running through my head and couldnt help but wonder about a million things I should have done differently.

HollyBama · July 2010

I allow myself one diet coke per day - to keep me sane!

Jessicaanne_1@yahoo.com · July 2010

I did this time. Only because I had a loss last time. I know its crazy and a moderate amount of caffine IS FINE! If something were to happen again. I want to know that it wasn't anything I did.

azpharmgirl · July 2010

i don't have caffeine everyday. i really cut back on coffee while ttgp which wasn't that hard b/c i quit while i was pg earlier this year. i might have a cup of hot tea or a few sips of a coke a few times a week. but i didn't grow up with soda so it wasn't hard to quit.

SpartanGirl · July 2010

Nope. I actually drank more caffeine than I usually do with my last pregnancy because Pepsi helped calm my m/s.

daniellenicole26 · July 2010

I am limiting myself to 1-2 caffinated drinks per week (usually tea). I figured it is just not worth the risk to drink it everyday. Plus, there is caffeine in alot of stuff that you would not expect, so chances are you are getting more caffeine than you think you are.

wall0307 · July 2010

I have two large cups of 1/2 caf. coffee in the morning. This is also what I drank before I was pregnant.

ruchemist · July 2010

I've heard that it's safe to have 200mg of caffeine a day, or something like that. However, my nurse practitioner told me to cut it all out, so I've been doing my best. I'm not going to say that I haven't slipped up at all, but it hasn't been as hard as I've thought.

lnicky · July 2010

I've heard that a small amount every day is fine...but I've almost completely cut it out cold turkey. I will have an iced tea when out to eat, but we only go out every couple weeks. It actually wasn't that hard to do considering I always feel so thirsty and caffeinated drinks don't really quench my thirst.

elotus24 · July 2010

I've had a couple of sodas since I've been pregnant, and one really big coffee! I don't think it's poison, but no need to push the envelope. I treat myself ever so often, but I'd already cut it out of my diet for the most part anyway.

kapathy · July 2010

I didn't drink any caffeine to begin with, so that part has been easy for me!

junebride060306 · July 2010

it's perfectly safe in moderation. (I am a nurse). all the OB's in my office say its fine. try to stick to less than 3 servings per day. depends on the amount of caffeine. starbucks has a lot more obviously, so you don't want 3 servings ofthat. I just have my one coffee every morning, just like I always have. I have a keurig and make an iced coffee. I did cut out my sometimes afternoon coffee though, but that wasn't an every day thing.

JanaVT9183 · July 2010

I would always drink coffee in spurts. I'd have two weeks where I'd drink tons of it, then go three weeks with none. So, I haven't drank any since finding out because I know if I drink one cup, I'm going to want another and so forth and so on. I have eaten chocolate on occasion, and there have been times I've had iced tea while out to dinner that probably had caffeine, but that's it. The place I drink iced tea the most is my parents' house, and my mom makes her's without caffeine, so I'm safe there. I've been drinking organic pregnancy hot tea that has no caffeine, and I'm enjoying that.

Jennis22 · July 2010

psychgal:
Or, if my boss wants, I'll go get a small coffee at Starbucks in the afternoon (mainly so I don't have to answer questions about why I'm not drinking coffee anymore.)

I would say if you plan on getting Starbucks then skip the morning coffee. One small regular Starbucks coffee has about 260mg of caffeine and one cup of home brewed coffee has about 100mg. Together they put you over the recommended amount (which varies by doctor/source between 200 mg to 300 mg).

If anyone is interested in seeing how much caffeine is in their favorite drink, check out this site I found: https://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

I was never a big coffee drinker but I do love tea and iced tea so I try to do decaf whenever possible because I can't taste the difference.

zalooba · July 2010

I LOVE COFFEE. I love the smell, the taste and the jitters haha It's hard to give up coffee but so far I have successfully done so (7 weeks) after discovering vitamin B complex. They are the best thing that ever happened to me. Since your body only stores Vitamins A, D, E, and K, you flush out all other vitamins every four hours. So if you take Vitamin B every four hours, you will find yourself awake, happy and energized. A friend of mine was diagnosed with a Vitamin B deficiency and she was sleeping or very tired all the time! when she found out about the vitamin, she was so peppy and productive. A whole new girl! So I gave it a chance and it really works. I don't understand why they aren't more popular!

I don't sell and vitamin B products, I just thought I would recommend it to everyone. It's worth a shot right? especially now that we are ALL EXHAUSTED!

heathernaf · August 2010

Nope, I still have coffee every now and again and a regular soda here and there. I don't drink either "regularly" so I'm going with moderation here, as I am with almost everything else.

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