[bebe luna]

Okay, my question is this:
Do you think that the baby born to a mother who consumes caffeine daily during pregnancy is born addicted to caffeine?

 

[Marco Esquandolas]

IME, I'd have to say no b/c I never completely gave up caffeine with either of my boys (would still have one 4 oz cup of coffee everyday of my pg, and sometimes even a soda in a 12 oz can). I never noticed any ill-effects such as colicky crying, shakes, or anything to lead me to believe that they were addicted, but that is just my experience. I'm not saying that it is wise or good to continue caffeine during pg, but for me, it was nearly impossible to quit since I am normally a full pot of coffee a day drinker, and plus, I had another vice to drop cold turkey both times that I felt was more important a habit to kick entirely-cigarettes. So there is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Now then, if I had continued to drink a full pot of coffee a day, then I am betting they would have had some sort of withdrawal once they were on the outside....but that's just me speculating.

 

[Imonion2]

Good question--I don't know. I have cut my coffee intake to 1 cup a day,and that just about killed me in the beginning. I have noticed btw, shakes if I go over that 1 cup/day intake. Interesting.

 

[chie96]

I just read something on this a month or so ago. I am looking but can not find the reference. I do remember that the fetus and newborn are not able to eliminate caffeine like adults. The article or study said that it can take 100 hours

for the fetus to eliminate the drug from it's body! Until that point I would occasionally have some chocolate (I gave up my 1/2-pot coffee/day habit when pg with DD), but I have since given it up. I'll try to find the references and post them later. HTH!

Edited to say: I just found my post (to someone on another forum) and it said the following. I can't be;lieve I did not cite my reference but will check my bookmarks.

Quote:

The fetus has a very limited ability to metabolize caffeine and it remains in his/her system for a long time. I just found this - take a look: "First, caffeine metabolism dramatically slows during gestation. The metabolic rate drops progressively, falling to one-half normal during the second trimester, and to one-third normal during the third trimester, before returning to normal within the week following delivery. This means that caffeine that is ingested by the woman in the last few months of pregnancy will remain in her system three times longer than usual and, consequently, that the exposure of her unborn child to caffeine will last three times longer. Second, the livers of the fetus and newborn are unable to metabolize caffeine. Because of the incapacity of their hepatic enzyme systems, their livers cannot transform caffeine into its metabolites, so the drug lingers in their systems much longer than in either children or adults, until it is finally excreted, virtually unchanged, in the urine. One researcher found the mean elimination time in infants being treated for apnea with caffeine was one hundred hours, 15 times the adult average..."

 

[Chelly2003]

Not sure if baby would be "addicted" and it would be hard to tell if you continued to drink coffee and Breast feed once baby was born.
I drink 2 cups a day and in the afternoon I do drink a soda or two.

If I had to take out everything in my diet that "might" or might not be bad, I think I'd starve to death.

You also have to think, there is some research on pregnant women being around animals, and babies being around animals, and the research says those kids are less likely to have allergies - so they've been exposed to something thats not perfectly health, and benifited from it........ kinda makes you think.

I think everything in moderation is fine (ok don't go out and smoke CRACK or anything like that - don't get me wrong) but food wise.......
You can't possibly avoid everything that is thought to be BAD. If you're eating well and getting enough water etc....... I don't think a cup of coffee is going to do damage.

 

[mamaroni]

The post about it taking 100 hours for the fetus to get the caffeine out of it's system was very interesting to me. It didn't necessarily say that it was harmful, just that it was there. (OK, maybe i'm reaching here!) I have not given up my one cup a day (which is significantly less than when i'm not preg), and did not with either of my babes. Seems like everyghing i've read concludes there aren't any problems with caffeine in moderation, and that's what works for me!

How about the exhaust I'm exposed to while in traffic? . . . or second hand smoke (which i've also noticed while sitting at a stop light with my windows open!). . . or any of 1000 other environmental toxins. . .?

 

[LiamnEmma]

Yeah, I always wondered that too, and worried a tad, but then again, I summed up the pros and cons at the time, and finally decided that a cuppa joe was less harmful to my fetus than me driving bleary-eyed and half asleep on the freeways of Los Angeles at 6:30 a.m.!....

I know that sounds a little snide, I but do say it in all seriousness. Maybe my bad, but my kids seem to be fine...a little on the active side mind you

but fine.

 

[Ravin]

Well, maybe that's why my babe was unusually active this afternoon during NST's. I had some coffee yesterday evening (a small cup). 2 1/2 hours later, I knew she had it in her system, she was doing a belly rhumba! I drink maybe 2-3 caffeinated beverages a week. Studies that led to the "you shouldn't drink caffiene while pregnant" showed significant effects if you drank more than 4 cups of coffee or equivalent a day. A little bit of chocolate or a single cup of morning coffee isn't going to hurt the baby (might not help with MOM's constipation, though...)

 

[its_our_family]

I'm addicted to coke... coca-cola. I know you can get caffeine free but to me YUCK! My dh is allergic to artificial sweeteners so we jsut keep the real deal int he house

I've nevber seen anything negative in my son because of caffeine. I know that when I cut back I have such bad headaches that its hard to function...do you I"M addicted

: I have cut back considerably but not to nothing...kwim?

Maybe it explains why my son is so "full of energy" now..... so much caffeine inutero that at 17 months he is still working t through his system..not to mention the caffeine he got while bfing...

 

[Ravin]

Well, Megan, to put it briefly, yes, you're probably addicted to caffiene. Headaches are a withdrawal symptom.

There are certainly worse vices.

 

[Carolinamidwife]

Well, feh, now I feel guilty.

I am definitely addicted to coffee but I only need about 3-4 oz a day to keep the headaches at bay. I gave up coffee with my son and then after he was born he could not tolerate coffee through my breastmilk so I had to give it up for almost 3 years. Frankly, I was kind of hoping by drinking small amounts during pregnancy this baby would be more acclimated when she comes out. Sad but true.

Amy

 

[its_our_family]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ravin Well, Megan, to put it briefly, yes, you're probably addicted to caffiene. Headaches are a withdrawal symptom.

Yup, i went 5 yrs with no caffeine or carbonation..... one rootbeer float later and here I am!

 

[Ravin]

Root beer usually isn't caffienated.

:

There's no proof that moderate (4 or less/day) cups of coffee worth of caffiene has any adverse effect on baby during pregnancy.

I cut out sodas before I was pregnant, for the most part. It had more to do with the massive quantities of sugar than for the caffiene, though. (I'm hypoglycemic and it's really not good for me). I still drink coffee, just not a lot. DH is one of those pot-of-coffee types. I'll have a cup, and definitely feel the effects. I figure if I keep my consumption down, when I really need the caffiene for a pick-me-up it'll still work--and when I was in the Navy I truly relied on it to stay awake on watch--in front of a radar screen in a darkened room in the middle of the night isn't an easy place to stay awake sometimes! So I'd be awake, but so jittery that I was really quite useless. Not that they cared most of the time, so long as I looked like I was awake (unless one of the other radars was broken my position was a bit redundant). I used coca-cola except when I was broke and couldn't bum one off anyone, then I'd resort to the ships coffee (which was usually made around five AM and if it ran out maybe again around noon, and was by one AM some truly scary stuff--yet highly effective at waking one up!)

DH gets no appreciable results from the stimulant properties of coffee...another sign of addiction, tee hee.

 

[GoodWillHunter]

In my developmental Psych class, I learned that caffeine is considered a terratogen, but a mild one. It can decrease muscle tone in the fetus and newborn. I must've been exposed to a lot of caffeine in utero. I still have no muscle tone

. However, caffeine is also given to newborns with apnea issues to help regulate their breathing. My DD was on what my DH considered concentrated Mountain Dew when she first came home from the hospital NICU. So, there ya go. My limited, albeit sound info on Caffeine.

P.S. I'm pg with number five and I still occasionally indulge in a glass of tea...or a Chai Tea Latte...

 

[Sahara]

Quote:

Root beer usually isn't caffeinated.

Actually it depends on the brand. My grandma was told to quit caffiene when she was 90 or so. Her favorite afternoon beverage was rootbeer. I think it was Barg's has caffiene, but some brands don't. It says on the label. Totally off topic, but she thumbed her nose at the doc's and kept on drinking coffee and eating fatback (gross!) until she passed away at 97.

I didn't drink any caffeine last pregnancy, or the first 6-8 months of bfing, but I do have a cup of English Breakfast in the morning. I make it weak, and it has about a quarter the caffeine of coffee. Both my midwives are fine with it they say it takes 4 or more cups of coffee before you start seeing adverse effects. No idea where this information comes from, though.

bebe luna, do you drink caffeine?
Steph

 

[its_our_family]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ravin Root beer usually isn't caffienated. :

T
Rootbeer was my "gateway drug"

Some brands do have caffeine just check the label....

 

[USAmma]

I ate a LOT of chocolate when pg with dd and she was born just fine. She's spirited-- but that's more genetic than anything. She was extremely active in the womb, I have to say, much more so than this current baby is. Very, very good muscle tone. I got comments on it all the time at the ped's office, etc. (And she's been veg since conception.

).

Now this time around I drank coffee for part of first tri because it sounded good for some reason, when not much else did. Not eating as much chocoate and this dd is not as active. Not sure if there's any correlation or not.

I would say anything in moderation (except drugs) is just fine.

Darshani

 

[Tanibani]

Just my .02 cents....

Caffeine leaches calcium from your bones. That's why I won't drink it. (I want to, mind you, be like everybody else around me and enjoy a good cup of Starbucks... but this is one of those things I won't do.) My DH

used to drink coffee everyday. When he used to buy a tall cup of coffee, I used to inhale it just for the pleasure of it! But he stopped recently

because he was feeling weak and a natural health practioner suggested it.

I hate drinking soda. It makes me bloated and gassy. So that's easy for me.

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1485.html

Quote:

Although controversial, too much caffeine could increase the possibility of osteoporosis later in life. Since caffeine is a diuretic, it can increase calcium loss in the urine. For every 150 milligrams of caffeine (found in approximately one 8-ounce cup of coffee or two to three 12-ounce cans of caffeinated soda), approximately five milligrams of calcium is excreted out in the urine. This loss can add up and could be detrimental for your bones, particularly if your diet is already insufficient in calcium. If you must have your caffeine, bone up on calcium by adding at least two tablespoons of milk to each cup of coffee, in addition to getting your recommended daily intake of calcium.

http://www.healthandage.com/Home/gid2=1684

Quote:

Measurements taken at the start of the study showed no difference in bone density between the groups. After three years, however, those in the high-caffeine group (300 mg each day or three 6 ounce cups of coffee) had a significantly higher rate of bone loss in the spine than those in the low-caffeine group. There was no difference in the rate of bone loss in the other sites that were measured (hip and thigh bone).

The studies show you have to drink a lot of caffeine daily for this to happen... but I still wouldn't risk it with my body... or my baby. I need every damn vitamin/mineral in my body.

DH has NO muscle tone... (but he's very bright) 42 yrs ago, pg women smoked during pg

: and who knows how much she coffee/soda MIL drank. He was the 3rd, last born. His first-born brother (strangely) is as (legend has it) strong as an ox. Maybe she had no calcium in her body to contribute to her last child...

Some articles from Dr. Mercola's website:

The Truth about Caffeine (Especially During Pregnancy)

This one has a breakdown of Caffeine milligrams...
Pregnant Women Need to Avoid Caffeine

This one has a list of Medications with Caffeine:
Caffeine May Up Miscarriage Risk

I don't know the answer to your question "is the baby born addicted to caffeine" but it's a chemical that stays in the fetus/babies body and one that he/she does NOT need.

Quote:

In animals, in utero or early postnatal exposure to moderate-to-high doses of caffeine has been associated with decreased brain weight and alterations in brain development and in learning and memory, and it has been associated with an increased incidence of apnea in adult rats. Unfortunately, the results of the few studies of the neurobehavioral effects in children after in utero or early postnatal exposure are conflicting.

Quote:

In 1981, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised pregnant women to "avoid caffeine-containing foods and drugs, if possible, or consume them only sparingly."

I personally would not risk it. Since I'm not addicted, it's for me an easy thing to avoid.

 

[Alstrameria]

I'm not addicted to it, I actually don't like coffee, but have taken a cup in the morning since being pg. With dd she was a little furnace, so I had tons of energy, but this baby, well...not...zzzzzz....

Anyway, the midwife advised one cup to help with my blood pressure, which is quite low

:

Good or bad? I don't think one cup is enough to cause any negative side effects. I make my own with 1/2 regular and 1/2 decaf. Starbucks or Tim's wire me out.

JEn

 

[Marco Esquandolas]

"and it has been associated with an increased incidence of apnea in adult rats"

Whew, thank goodness I'm not giving birth to an adult rat. :LOL