Researchers from the University of Queensland found that consuming coffee daily during pregnancy is safe and does not show any negative side effects as previously thought.
Dr John Helen Moen, Dr Daniel Huang and Carolyn Brito Nunes of the Institute for Molecular Biosciences at the University of Queensland used genetics to study coffee drinking behavior, and their findings show that limited coffee consumption during pregnancy does not increase the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth. , or preterm labor (premature birth).
Dr Moen said: “Current WHO guidelines state that pregnant women should drink less than 300mg of caffeine, or two to three cups a day. But this is based on observational studies where it is difficult to separate the use of coffee risk factors ”. I wanted to know if coffee alone increases the risk of negative pregnancy outcomes, and research shows that it doesn’t. ”
Dr. explained. Huang that coffee drinking habits are part of genes, with a particular set of genetic variants that affect how much coffee we drink.
“We show that these genetic variants affect not only coffee consumption in the general population but also in pregnant women.”
The researchers used a method called Mendelian Randomization, which used eight genetic variants that predicted coffee drinking behavior in pregnant women and examined whether these variants were also associated with outcomes. of birth.
“Because we could not ask women to drink prescribed amounts of coffee during pregnancy, we used genetic tests to simulate a randomized control trial,” Drs. Huang.
Genetic testing found that there was no increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth or premature birth for women who drank coffee.
Dr Huang announced: “When it comes to diet during pregnancy, women are often advised to boycott coffee, but this study shows that they can still enjoy coffee without worrying about increased risk of these pregnancy outcomes. ” “.
The researchers emphasize that the study only looked at some negative pregnancy outcomes and it is possible that caffeine consumption affects other important aspects of fetal development.
“For this reason, we do not recommend high amounts during pregnancy, but instead low to moderate coffee consumption,” explains Dr. Moen.
Source: Medical Express
Source: Arabic RT
