Effect of Caffeine Intake During Pregnancy on Birth Weight

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of caffeine consumption during pregnancy on birth weight and its possible interaction with smoking. The sample included 1,011 women who were interviewed during their first 3 days after delivery in one of the hospitals of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. A significant reduction in birth weight was found to be associated with an average caffeine intake of > or = 71 mg per day, after adjustment for gestational age, infant sex, parity, and maternal height and weight, but only in infants born to nonsmoking mothers.

Intake of caffeine and other methylxanthines during pregnancy and risk for adverse effects in pregnant women and their foetuses

“…In some studies, the effect was confined to subgroups of the studied population. Thus, Beaulac-Baillargeon and Desrosier (1987) and Peacock et al (1991) observed a foetal growth retardation at high caffeine intakes only in smokers, while Vlajinac et al (1997) found an association only in non-smokers. In two retrospective studies (Fenster et al, 1991;Fortier et al, 1993) a significant effect could be seen only on intrauterine growth retardation, whereas low birth weight, which was also measured, was unaffected.…”

“…Eight out of the nineteen studies designed to investigate a potential relationship between caffeine exposure and foetal growth retardation observed a statistically significant relationship between the exposure and the studied endpoint (Kuzma and Sokol, 1982;Watkinson and Fried, 1984;Beaulac-Baillargeon and Desrosiers, 1987;Martin and Bracken, 1987;Peacock et al, 1991;Fenster et al, 1991b;Fortier et al, 1993;Vlajinac et al, 1997). In four of these studies (Martin and Bracken, 1987;Fenster et al, 1991b;Fortier et al, 1993;Vlajinac et al, 1997) a dose response relationship was observed.…”

“…In four of these studies (Martin and Bracken, 1987;Fenster et al, 1991b;Fortier et al, 1993;Vlajinac et al, 1997) a dose response relationship was observed. In some studies, the effect was confined to subgroups of the studied population.…”

“…A study performed in Belgrade, in former Yugoslavia, examined the effect of women's caffeine consumption (and its possible interaction with smoking) during pregnancy on the birth weight of the newborn (Vlajinac et al, 1997). The participating 1 011 women were interviewed during their first 3 days after delivery.…”

Maternal coffee drinking in pregnancy and risk of small for gestational age birth

“…Some studies conducted on the effect of caffeine intake in pregnancy and the risk of small for gestational age (SGA) have shown an increased risk (Vlajinac et al, 1997;Fernandes et al, 1998), particularly in women drinking three or more cups of coffee per day (Warkinson & Fried, 1985;Martin & Bracken, 1987;Cann & Goldhaber, 1989;Olsen et al, 1991;Eskenazi et al, 1999;Bracken et al, 2003), but others did not find any association (Peacock et al, 1991;Shu et al, 1995;Grosso et al, 2001;Clausson et al, 2002). Most studies did not take into account the confounding effects of smoking and alcohol intake and nausea in pregnancy (Dlugosz & Bracken, 1992;Mills et al, 1993;Shiono & Klebanoff, 1993;Fernandes et al, 1998).…”