MILAN – The Swedish National Food Agency lowered the suggested amount of caffeine that women should drink during pregnancy to no more than 200 milligrams per day from a previous limit of 300 milligrams.
In a press release, the authority writes that coffee, tea, energy drinks, supplements and dark chocolate can contain caffeine and that the levels of the products, especially coffee can vary widely.
The previous daily limit of 300 milligrams of caffeine during pregnancy was based on the fact that if a pregnant woman exceeded the limit, the risk of miscarriage could increase.
The Swedish Food Agency’s previous advice was not to drink more than three cups of (strong filtered) coffee or six cups of tea per day during pregnancy.
The authority writes in its press release that new research shows that the weight of the fetus can be affected already when consuming more than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day, and that is why the advice is now updated.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) suggests, for pregnant and breastfeeding women, that a regular caffeine consumption of up to 200 mg per day is safe for the unborn child or breastfed infant (Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies.
