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novapsycheHeavy Coffee Drinking Raises Stillbirth Risk--Study
Pregnant women who drink eight cups of coffee a day could be more than doubling their risk of having a stillbirth, Danish scientists said on Thursday.
A cup or two of coffee is not harmful but researchers at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark said the risk of stillbirth increases with consumption.
"What we show is that drinking four to seven cups a day increases the risk of stillbirth around 80 percent and drinking eight or more cups a day more than doubles the risk," Dr. Kristin Wisborg, a pediatrician at the hospital, said in an interview.
Her findings are based on a study of more than 18,000 pregnant women who filled in questionnaires about their medical history, smoking habits, and coffee and alcohol consumption before giving birth at the hospital.
Wisborg and her colleagues found no link between drinking coffee and infant death in the first year of life.
But Roger Cook, a spokesman for the British Coffee Association, said pregnant women should not be alarmed by the findings.
"The results of this study do not alter the advice given to pregnant women by the Food Standards Agency who state that 300 mg caffeine -- equivalent to three mugs or four cups of coffee per day -- is perfectly safe and will have no adverse effect on the mother or the fetus," he said in a statement.
Wisborg said expectant mothers who drink plenty of coffee are more likely to smoke and to consume more alcohol than other women but even after they adjusted for these factors there was still an increased risk of stillbirth.
The findings, reported in the British Medical Journal, are consistent with animal research which showed high daily doses of caffeine in pregnancy increase the risk of stillbirth in monkeys, she added.
Scientists do not know the mechanism through which coffee could increase the risk of stillbirth but they suspect that caffeine could spark a release of adrenaline which could contract the blood vessels in the placenta or it may affect heart beat.
"This is the first study on coffee and stillbirth," said Wisborg, adding more research is needed to confirm her results.
She also noted that other researchers have found a possible link between coffee consumption during pregnancy and low birthweight and miscarriage.
Pregnant women who drink eight cups of coffee a day could be more than doubling their risk of having a stillbirth, Danish scientists said on Thursday.
A cup or two of coffee is not harmful but researchers at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark said the risk of stillbirth increases with consumption.
"What we show is that drinking four to seven cups a day increases the risk of stillbirth around 80 percent and drinking eight or more cups a day more than doubles the risk," Dr. Kristin Wisborg, a pediatrician at the hospital, said in an interview.
Her findings are based on a study of more than 18,000 pregnant women who filled in questionnaires about their medical history, smoking habits, and coffee and alcohol consumption before giving birth at the hospital.
Wisborg and her colleagues found no link between drinking coffee and infant death in the first year of life.
But Roger Cook, a spokesman for the British Coffee Association, said pregnant women should not be alarmed by the findings.
"The results of this study do not alter the advice given to pregnant women by the Food Standards Agency who state that 300 mg caffeine -- equivalent to three mugs or four cups of coffee per day -- is perfectly safe and will have no adverse effect on the mother or the fetus," he said in a statement.
Wisborg said expectant mothers who drink plenty of coffee are more likely to smoke and to consume more alcohol than other women but even after they adjusted for these factors there was still an increased risk of stillbirth.
The findings, reported in the British Medical Journal, are consistent with animal research which showed high daily doses of caffeine in pregnancy increase the risk of stillbirth in monkeys, she added.
Scientists do not know the mechanism through which coffee could increase the risk of stillbirth but they suspect that caffeine could spark a release of adrenaline which could contract the blood vessels in the placenta or it may affect heart beat.
"This is the first study on coffee and stillbirth," said Wisborg, adding more research is needed to confirm her results.
She also noted that other researchers have found a possible link between coffee consumption during pregnancy and low birthweight and miscarriage.
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Date: 2003-02-21 01:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-02-21 11:29 am (UTC)--Anne
(no subject)
Date: 2003-02-22 12:39 am (UTC)Whichever weekend is best for you, though I should tell you that Fareyd will be in town next weekend. So, if the party were that weekend, he'd obviously be my guest.
Thank you so much for opening up your house for a party. I feel loved. :)