China Daily

China Daily

According to data from a randomized controlled trial published in the British Medical Journal, a moderate reduction in caffeine intake during the second half of pregnancy had no effect on birth weight or length of pregnancy.

Danish researchers recruited 1207 pregnant women who reportedly drank at least three cups of coffee a day. Participants were blindly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. Women in the experimental group drank decaffeinated coffee and had a mean daily caffeine intake that was 182 mg lower than that of women in the control group who drank caffeinated coffee.

Since both groups consumed some caffeine, there was no way to determine if caffeine consumption is harmless, only that less caffeine offered no measurable, positive effect.