Too much coffee during pregnancy risks stillbirth

Women who drink large amounts of coffee during pregnancy double their risk of stillbirth compared with women who do not drink any coffee. In a prospective study of 18 478 singleton pregnancies, Wisborg and colleagues (p 420) evaluated the risk of stillbirth and infant death associated with coffee consumption during pregnancy. Adjusting for several potential confounders (smoking, alcohol use, maternal age, among others), they found that women who drank eight or more cups of coffee a day during their pregnancy had an increased risk of stillbirth, but not of infant death. Previous studies have associated high doses of caffeine with spontaneous abortion and low birth weight in humans, and with stillbirth in monkeys.

(Credit: PR NEWS PHOTO)

© 2003 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd

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