Pregnant women who drink coffee or consume caffeine products are not putting their children at risk of developing neurodevelopmental difficulties, including ADHD.
That is according to recent findings published in Cambridge University Press. The IMB-led study analyzed thousands of pregnant women over 20 years to determine whether the consumption of coffee had any correlations to a child developing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The research did not find any causal links between consuming caffeine during pregnancy and a child's neurodevelopmental difficulties. It is important to note that the study accounted for other factors, such as genes and income levels.
Researchers noted that this means it is safe to keep drinking coffee, according to current recommendations from health experts. For most people, this means consuming below 200 mg of caffeine daily. This is equivalent to roughly one espresso or two cups of instant coffee.
Caffeine Products Consumption During Pregnancy
The study specifically looked at 58,694 women registered in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study, which was conducted between 1999 and 2008.
In that study, parents were asked to report how much coffee they consumed during their pregnancy. They were also asked to complete surveys on their child's neurodevelopmental traits between six months old and eight years old. These include their offspring's motor and language skills, ability to communicate, and their regulation of activity and impulses.
All parents and children who participated in the study also provided genetic samples. This allowed researchers to focus their study on a pregnant woman's coffee-drinking behavior and rule out other variants shared between the mother and child.
The researchers noted that their study has limitations, including that they were only able to rule out the strong effects that caffeine has on the neurodevelopmental abilities of children. This means small effects may still exist.
Other Studies on Prenatal Caffeine Consumption and Child's Neurodevelopment
Previous studies have found a link between coffee drinking during pregnancy and a child's neurodevelopmental difficulties. However, they were unable to establish whether caffeine is a direct cause of those disorders in children.
Other studies have also found that caffeine molecules can cross the placenta. Fetuses do not have the enzymes needed to break down the molecules, so experts believed it could impact the development of the child.
