Decaf Coffee and Pregnancy

There is almost nothing in the world which can freshen you up and give you a good jolt out of your Monday morning blues at work or lethargy than a good old cuppa' coffee! For many of us it is undoubtedly so, barring a few exceptions. One of such exceptions is pregnant women. Many of us already know that too much of caffeine is harmful for the pregnant woman and her baby or even otherwise for anyone. In case of pregnant women, however, the baby is at risk and no woman would want anything to happen to her bundle of joy. At the same time, coffee is a habit which we can never get out of. What then can be done by pregnant women? Lets take a look at the precarious relationship between decaf coffee and pregnancy.

Is Decaf Coffee Safe During Pregnancy?

To see whether decaf coffee can be consumed during pregnancy, we need to first take a realistic look at what is decaf and decaffeinated coffee process. Decaf coffee is a type of coffee which comes with the majority of its caffeine content removed. The word to mark here is majority of caffeine and not all of it. Now that will be the base of the whole discussion revolving around pregnancy and coffee and caffeine. In fact, it is practically impossible to get rid of all the caffeine content in coffee as it is naturally there in the coffee beans. So basically, whatever type of coffee is consumed, a minimum amount of caffeine is going to enter your system. But the good part is that it would surely be safer than the normal coffee with its caffeine content especially for pregnant women. If at all you cannot give up coffee totally, going for a decaf is a safer option. Having 3 to 4 cups of decaf a day at the most has not been found to be potentially harmful. However, this again cannot be generalized. Sometimes even those 3 to 4 cups or relatively low caffeine dose can create a problem during pregnancy. It therefore depends on the person's overall health. Decaf coffee during pregnancy may not be exactly a wrong choice if done in moderation. In short, decaf coffee may not have an adverse effect on pregnancy. There is, however, another aspect to decaf coffee and pregnancy. Here we will be exploring that as well.

Is Decaf Really That Bad?

Well, quite a few reports and studies contradict the primary argument that caffeine intake is harmful during pregnancy. A lot of research and survey related to decaf coffee and pregnancy have not been conclusive as to caffeine impacts the pregnancy and fetal development more than decaf. Hence, to simply answer the question is decaf coffee harmful during pregnancy, the answer would be not exactly. Now you might be wondering is coffee bad for you. Well, here is the answer. Decaf or otherwise, moderate consumption should normally not have any effects on the baby. The birth weight and the length of the pregnancy was not significantly different in the caffeine consuming and decaf consuming groups as per research held in the related topic. Those who had normal caffeine based coffee delivered babies weighing around 3539 grams and those who had decaf coffee delivered babies with weight around 3519 grams. This difference was of hardly any consequence and significance as per the research.

Still all this does not mean that decaf coffee and pregnancy can totally go together. There can be a potential risk if a pregnant woman has 10 cups of decaffeinated coffee per day as the so called decaf is not totally devoid of caffeine. It is thus, better to keep coffee consumption at moderation, be it decaf or the usual one with caffeine. Caffeine in some quantity can even augur well for your health but too much can lead to coffee side effects.

At the end of the day, decaf coffee and pregnancy can perfectly go together if the phrase 'too much of everything can spoil it all', is remembered! Take care!