High levels of caffeine can hurt pregnancy and result in babies having a low birth weight, which can increase the risk of health problems later. Too much caffeine can also cause miscarriage.
Which foods are source of caffeine
Caffeine is naturally found in lots of foods, such as coffee, tea and chocolate, and is added to some soft drinks and energy drinks.
It can also be found in certain cold and flu medicines. Talk to your doctor, midwife, pharmacist or another health professional before taking these medicines.
You don’t need to cut caffeine out completely, but you should limit how much. You should not take more than 200 mg a day. Try to use decaffeinated tea and coffee, fruit juice or water and limit the amount of energy drinks, which may be high in caffeine. Don’t worry if you occasionally have more than this, because the risks are quite small.
Caffeine content in food and drink
- 1 mug of instant coffee: 100mg
- 1 mug of filter coffee: 140mg
- 1 mug of tea: 75mg
- 1 can of cola: 40mg
- 1 can of energy drink: up to 80mg
- 1 x 50g bar of plain chocolate: up to 50mg
- 1 x 50g bar of milk chocolate: up to 25mg
1 bar of plain chocolate and one mug of filter coffee 2 mugs of tea and one can of cola, or 1 mug of instant coffee and one can of energy drink you have reached almost 200mg of caffeine.
So eat in the manner so that your caffeine consumption not exceeding to 200 mg a day.