No Association between Coffee Consumption and Adverse Outcomes of Pregnancy

We analyzed interview and medical-record data of 12,205 non-diabetic, non-asthmatic women to evaluate the relation between coffee consumption and adverse outcomes of pregnancy. Low birth weight and short gestation occurred more often among offspring of women who drank four or more cups of coffee a day and more often among the offspring of smokers. After controlling for smoking, other habits, demographic characteristics, and medical history by standardization and logistic regression, we found no relation between low birth weight or short gestation and heavy coffee consumption. Furthermore, there was no excess of malformations among coffee drinkers. These negative results suggest that coffee consumption has a minimal effect, if any, on the outcome of pregnancy.