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ITN
Coffee doubles risk of miscarriage
Coffee doubles risk of miscarriage
Drinking coffee can double the chance of a pregnant woman miscarrying her baby, US experts have warned.The study - published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - was conducted by Dr De-Kun Li and involved 1,063 women who had become pregnant in the last month or two.They showed that consuming 200mg of caffeine a day doubled the risk of miscarriage.The women were asked to provide a diary about their caffeine intake up to the 20th week of pregnancy.On comparing the details it was found that 172 women had miscarried by 20 weeks.Compared with those who did not drink caffeine, women who consumed up to 200mg a day had an increased risk of miscarriage.Dr Li said: "This strengthens the association between caffeine and miscarriage risk because it removes speculation that the association was due to reduced caffeine intake by healthy pregnant women."The main message for pregnant women from these findings is that they probably should consider stopping caffeine consumption during pregnancy."Pat O'Brien, a consultant obstetrician at University College Hospital, said: "This is the best evidence we now have on the subject and I will advise patients to avoid caffeine completely, at least for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy."© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
ITN | January 21, 2008
