Coffee doubles the risk of miscarriage

London, Jan 21 (UNI) Moms-to-be, cut down your daily cups of coffee and tea, as their excessive consumption can harm your baby and also increase the risk of miscarriage.

A new American reserach shows that pregnant women who drink more than two cups of coffee a day may have doubled the risk of miscarriage.

Caffeine might harm the unborn baby because it stays longer in pregnant women's systems and passes easily to the growing baby, who cannot readily metabolise it.

It may damage cell development and decrease placental blood flow, affecting the unborn baby's life-support system. There have been fears a high caffeine intake could also affect birth weight and prematurity.

In the research on 1,063 pregnant women, it was found that those who consumed 200mg or more of caffeine a day-- the equivalent of two or more regular cups of coffee-- had twice the miscarriage risk than women who consumed no caffeine.

It was also found that women who consumed less than 200mg caffeine daily (but more than zilch) had a more than 40 per cent increased risk of miscarriage, the Daily Mail reported.

Consultant obstetrician Pat O'Brien, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaeologists, said, ''On the basis of this study, I'll be advising women to avoid caffeine during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, especially those with a history of miscarriage.'' UNI XC SKB MSJ BD1455