Coffee and Cola During Pregnancy

Maybe you've been a caffeine freak or soda pop junkie or you've been getting your energy from energy drinks for most of your life. But now that you're pregnant, you begin to realize that the phrase "eating for two" doesn't mean you get twice as much. Rather, it means that everything you eat or drink affects your growing baby.

Although the best time to fix any bad habits is before pregnancy, it's never too late to adopt a healthy nutritional lifestyle. An important part of nutrition is what you drink as much as what you eat. Everyone knows the dangers of drinking alcohol when you're pregnant – that's always a no-no – but what else is good, and bad, in the world of liquid?

When she got pregnant for the first time, Jewel Houlihan, of Lake Orion, Mich., gave up soda pop cold turkey. By her third pregnancy she was allowing herself two or three sodas per week. Her three children, ages 12, 2 and 5 months old, certainly haven't suffered any harm. "I don't think soda is a problem as long as it's in moderation," says Houlihan.

Most experts would agree with Houlihan – to a point. While studies have shown that the amount of caffeine in up to two regular-sized servings a day (that is, two cups of coffee or tea, two glasses of soda, etc.), is unlikely to have an adverse effect on pregnancy, it can cause other problems. For one thing, soda tends to have a lot of sugar, which can cause weight gain. Sugared sodas should definitely be avoided if a woman has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

Dr. M. Kelly Shanahan, a physician at the Emerald Bay Center for Women's Health in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., says that while nothing is better than water, water and more water, other types of non-alcoholic drinks are acceptable in moderation. "We do recommend limiting caffeine to no more than the equivalent of two small cups of coffee per day, which is a normal 8-ounce china cup, not a huge mug," says Dr. Shanahan. "If you can't live without your pop, do try to limit it to one can of pop per day, without any other caffeinated drinks in addition to that."

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