Can a pregnant woman drink coffee?

By: Julia Ebbens (Nutritionniste) — 21/02/2026

Why question your caffeine intake during pregnancy?
Impact of caffeine on the risk of miscarriage
Does caffeine affect a baby's birth weight?
What are the recommendations?
Should you switch to decaffeinated coffee?
How much caffeine do the products I consume contain?
Key takeaways

When you think about the things to avoid during pregnancy, it is likely that alcohol tops the list.

But what about caffeine? Recommendations vary from one country to another, and it is not easy to decide whether or not to continue having your cup of coffee each morning. Here we review the possible risks to help you decide what is best for you and your baby.

Why question your caffeine intake during pregnancy?

We know that caffeine can easily cross the placenta and therefore enter the baby's body. Most of the caffeine is eliminated by the mother before this happens, especially in early pregnancy, but this is less the case during the second and third trimesters.

It is well known that caffeine has a stimulating effect on the nervous system. This effect varies from person to person, but most coffee drinkers experience an increased heart rate and report feeling a mild stimulation, then sometimes increased fatigue when the effect wears off.

If adults with fully developed nervous systems are affected by caffeine, one may wonder what happens with the embryo or fetus whose nervous system is still developing and whether there could be undesirable consequences.

Impact of caffeine on the risk of miscarriage

This question has been the subject of numerous studies which on average conclude that there is an increased risk of miscarriage of approximately 30% compared to no caffeine consumption.

Although this may seem quite alarming, these results should probably be partly nuanced:

• firstly, many studies focus primarily on heavy consumers (more than 4 cups per day)
• secondly, the causal link has not yet been well established by these studies. In particular, we know that coffee consumption tends to increase with age, as does the risk of miscarriage. Based on our current knowledge, it could therefore still be a correlation without a causal link.

Does caffeine affect a baby's birth weight?

We know that this is the case in rodents : birth weight is lower when caffeine is added to the diet.

But what about in humans? For 11 of the 13 studies examined in a recent review, there was a negative association between caffeine and the healthy weight of the fetus at birth.

Note, once again, that most of these studies focused on high consumption (greater than 300 mg per day) and that the average reduction in birth weight would be fairly limited, around 100 to 200 g.

What are the recommendations?

While some of the results cited above may seem impressive, it is also important to remember that significant adverse effects are only observed when caffeine consumption is high.

Thus most official recommendations consider that limited coffee consumption during pregnancy does not pose a risk to the baby.

Some organizations recommend limiting consumption to 3 cups / 300 mg (World Health Organization, French Public Health Agency, Health Canada) while others set a limit at 2 cups / 200 mg (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, United Kingdom National Health Service).

Should you switch to decaffeinated coffee?

An obvious conclusion would be to simply switch from regular coffee to decaffeinated.

This is entirely possible, but in that case, we still recommend choosing your product carefully. Some processes used to remove caffeine from coffee beans use chlorine-based solvents or ethyl acetate, which are best avoided. Therefore, prefer decaffeinated coffees prepared "solvent-free" (check the label).

We recommend for example this organic solvent-free decaffeinated coffee from the brand Ethiquable.

Finally, also remember that decaffeinated coffee still contains a small amount of caffeine (around 10 mg per cup). At more than 20-30 cups per day, you will exceed the recommended limit!

How much caffeine do the products I consume contain?

The amount of caffeine in coffee depends in particular on the type of coffee and the preparation method.

Furthermore, coffee is not the only product that contains caffeine. Tea also contains it (about 2 times less than coffee), as does chocolate, sodas, and energy drinks.

Sources for the table figures:

Harland BF. Caffeine and nutrition. Nutrition. 2000 Jul-Aug;16(7-8):522-6. doi: 10.1016/s0899-9007(00)00369-5. PMID: 10906543.

Elaine B Feldman, Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease: 9th ed, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 70, Issue 5, November 1999, Page 948, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/70.5.948

Key takeaways

• High caffeine consumption during pregnancy could have adverse effects on the risk of miscarriage and the baby's weight.
• Even if the risk is uncertain, it is recommended as a precaution not to exceed 200/300 mg of caffeine per day (2-3 cups of coffee).
• Other products contain caffeine: tea, soda, chocolate.
• If you drink decaffeinated coffee, choose those prepared "solvent-free".

Our recommendation

Café en grains Bio - Honduras décaféiné sans solvant

PACKAGE: 1 Kg // 200 Cups // Zip closure (better preservation) // Aroma protection valve // This valve keeps the coffee as fresh as the day it was roasted.