New guidelines on caffeine in pregnancy

Women have again been issued new guidance on what they can consume during pregnancy. On 3 November 2008, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) released revised guidance on the consumption of caffeine during pregnancy. As is often the case when pregnant women are targeted with advice, the new guidance on caffeine was a popular topic in the press. Headlines included ‘Pregnant women told to drink no more than two cups of coffee a day’ (Elliott 2008) and ‘Two cups of coffee a day can lead to underweight babies, experts claim’ (Martin 2008). The news headlines highlighted findings from research just published that linked levels of caffeine intake above 200 mg/day with an increased risk of giving birth to a baby with a lower birth weight. Although coffee was used to draw attention in the headlines, the guidance of 200mg/day also includes caffeine from other sources such as tea, cola, chocolate and energy drinks.