Will Caffeine Kill Liam?

When I fell pregnant I basically cut all the wonderful things that I took for granted out of my diet. Gone was the McDonalds, toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, soft cheeses and booze. The thing that I suffered the most without though would have to have been my friend caffeine.

I’m not a hard core coffee drinker. When I was working I’d usually grab a 600mL diet Iced Coffee from the “Tucka Truck” in the morning to wake me up, and have a can of Diet Coke with my afternoon snack to get me through 3.30-itis. My decision to sacrifice my one saving grace at work was not on the advice of doctors – he didn’t mention anything to me about caffeine intake – but rather it was influenced by various baby websites which put caffeine drinkers in the same category as smokers.

I wish I could tell you that my no caffeine vigilance lasted, but it didn’t. At the start of my second trimester I started craving tea. Mmm, delicious! I’d have one with my brekky every morning. When summer really took grip I switched from cups of tea to a pint of home made Iced Coffee with my lunch. Ah, refreshing! Then, my husband came back from Malaysia with the most amazing coffee I’ve ever tasted in my life. My caffeine habits switched again to a cup of Indocafe in the morning with my brekky and a glass of diet coke in the afternoon, depending on whether or not my heartburn was behaving.

Since none of the 50 million doctors, specialists and midwives I have seen so far have mentioned anything about caffeine intake, I thought I’d better do some research! As I suspected, Caffeine during pregancy boosts miscarriage risk, so I’m very glad I gave it up at the start! Its also been linked to low birthweight amongst babies which is something I don’t have to worry about. At 32 weeks little Liam is already measuring 5lb 2oz. There are a whole bunch of other claims floating around out there, but I couldn’t find any credible studies to back them up.

Only now has the issue of caffeine come up when I visit my doctor. When I told her I had a cup of coffee in the morning she screwed up her face and asked me how I could do it. Not because I was poisoning my child, but rather because when she was pregnant coffee tasted like metal to her. I was chastised more for the Diet Coke than the coffee – and even then it was because I’m a Diabetic and not because I’m a horrible person who was turning my son into a mutant.

As with all things pregnancy and parenting related, we have to trust that we know whats best for our babies. I try to limit my intake of caffeine to under 200mg. I read somewhere (Do you think I can find the link now that I actually need it? No!) that if you’re going to drink caffeine, then try to keep it under that. Its the equivelant of two cups of instant coffee, or one proper coffee.

In case Liam actually is already a raging caffeine addict at the tender age of 0, I’ve decided to cut out the coffee in the morning. I really miss my Indocafe, but I would miss Liam more should something happen to him. Caffeine is the least of our worries; he already has his fair share of complications and I don’t want to add “addict” to that list! I won’t be losing any sleep over my past coffee indulgences though, I feel that I was within the limits and that my little soldier will be just fine.