Pregnancy caffeine intake associated with higher risk of low birth weight

What is it about?

We summarized evidence from 13 prospectively conducted observational studies and found that higher caffeine intake during pregnancy, even at relatively low level, was associated with higher risk of giving birth to low birth weight infants. A dose-response relationship was identified, such that each 100-mg/day (about one cup of coffee) increment in caffeine intake was associated with 13% higher risk for low birth weight.

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Why is it important?

Although caffeine may be slightly beneficial in general population, as shown in previous research, its effect during pregnancy remains unclear. The metabolism of caffeine slows down as pregnancy progresses, raising concerns of caffeine accumulation in fetal tissues and its potential detrimental effects. We only considered prospectively conducted observational studies in this systematic review and meta-analysis, thus ensuring that the synthesized evidence is of higher quality and relatively free from recall bias.

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