THE EFFECT OF CAFFEINE ON PREGNANCY OUTCOME VARIABLES

The American public consumes a wide array of caffeinated products as c offee, tea, chocolate, cola beverages, and caffeine-containing medicat ion. Therefore, if seems of value to inform both the scientific commun ity and the consumer about the potential effects of excessive caffeine consumption, particularly by pregnant women. The results of this lite rature review suggest that heavy caffeine (greater than or equal to 30 0 mg per day) during pregnancy is associated with small reductions in infant birth weight that may be especially detrimental to premature or low-birth-weight infants. Some researchers also document an increased risk of spontaneous abortion associated with caffeine consumption pri or to and during pregnancy. However, overwhelming evidence indicates t hat caffeine is not a human teratogen, and that caffeine appears to ha ve no effect on preterm labor and delivery. More research is needed be fore unambiguous statements about the effects of caffeine on pregnancy outcome variables can be made.