I AM a coffee lover. I am just concerned of this buzz I've heard about coffee. Is it true that this causes abortion?
Please advice. Thanks.
Mrs. Kafee
Dear Mrs. Kafee,
Caffeine had been known to cross the placenta readily. However, its impact on pregnancy is not entirely understood. While coffee stays within 2.5 to 4.5 hours in normal healthy adults, it stays a lot longer for 10.5 hours in pregnant women.
I am afraid that coffee may cause abortion when consumed in heavy amount. This was supported by a study of 3135 pregnant women, which showed that moderate-to-heavy caffeine users (>151 mg daily) were significantly more likely to experience late first- or second-trimester spontaneous abortion when compared with nonusers or light users of coffee.
Light caffeine use (1 to 150 mg daily) was associated with increased risk for abortion only in women for whom there was a history of spontaneous abortion. Take note that one cup of coffee has 107 mg of caffeine, one cup of tea has 34 mg, and one glass of cola has 47 mg.
Coffee was the main source of caffeine in moderate-to-heavy users; light users were more likely to derive caffeine from tea and other sources. It is possible that some other component of coffee other than caffeine is responsible for the increased risk of spontaneous abortion.
Researchers have recently reported on a marked positive dose-response relation between coffee consumption and plasma total homocysteine by a study of Nygard and his colleagues in 1997. Looking at the role for abnormal homocysteine metabolism leading to negative pregnancy result, a coffee-homocysteine connection may provide a mechanism for increased risk of spontaneous abortion among heavy coffee drinkers. However, further research is needed to investigate the possible relationship between homocysteine levels, coffee consumption, and pregnancy.
Meditalk
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