A recent study examined the link between a mother’s caffeine consumption and child growth and found that women who consume coffee every day will have shorter children.
The study found that women who consume a low measure of caffeine during pregnancy had children that were shorter at four and eight years of age than the children of women who consumed no caffeine at all.
Evidence was discovered that even consuming one-quarter of Australia’s recommended caffeine intake a day for a pregnant woman was enough to affect the height of the child.
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The recommended maximum limit of caffeine per day in Australia is 200mg. This is equivalent to one cup of espresso-style coffee, four cups of medium-strength tea, three cups of instant coffee, four cups of hot chocolate, and four cans of cola.
The findings of the study, on the effects of caffeine consumed by women who are pregnant, are similar to that of smoking.
The retrospective cohort analysis examined 1116 mother and child pairs, with measurements of height and weight taken of children aged four to eight.
The study was conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Fetal Growth Studies as part of the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes, and compared two cohorts.
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The findings of the US study suggest that even small amounts of daily caffeine consumption for a pregnant woman were associated with shorter children. The study states that the exact reason for this is not clear but that caffeine is a neural stimulant that was not metabolised by the fetus and therefore accumulated in fetal tissue.
“Given that approximately eight in 10 US pregnant women consume caffeine, it is important to determine whether in utero-caffeine exposure has long-term growth implications in offspring,” the study said.
“Maternal caffeine consumption even in amounts lower than currently recommended guidelines of less than 200 mg per day during pregnancy was associated with smaller child height beginning at age four years and persisting to age eight years.”
“The clinical implication of this height difference is unclear and warrants future investigation.”
