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[Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical practitioner. Any medical information is strictly my opinion based on research and personal experience, and not to be taken as advice. Always seek the advice of a licensed physician for your medical needs. Read my full disclaimer here.]
Love your daily cup of coffee? Wondering if you have to stop drinking coffee to get pregnant?
The short answers:
—Medical research: When TTC, no, as long as you’re not drinking more than 4 cups a day, anyway (studies from the 1980s and early 90s are somewhat inconclusive, but since then no studies have shown a correlation. Overall the conclusion now seems to be no). When pregnant, yes, avoid caffeine, as studies do confirm that unanimously. Male factor infertility? Inconclusive.
—My experience: I generally don’t drink coffee/caffeine.
—Worth giving up when TTC (strictly my opinion)? Yes — even though when TTC moderate amounts don’t seem to have any effect, there is an associated risk of caffeine and miscarriage. (So I’d say you might as well stop drinking coffee now, even if it you don’t have to to get pregnant!)
Continue reading below if you’re interested in finding out more details (the long answers)…
*Or, click here for more answers to your other TTC questions!
Now, for the long answers…
The medical research
–A study done by Lyngso in 2017 found that women who drank up to 400mg of coffee a day (about 4 cups) did not take any longer to become pregnant than women who drank no coffee.
*There have been 2 studies done in the late 80s that did show women who drank coffee took longer to get pregnant. Three studies since then have shown that it does not. (See Table 1 from Lyngso.) It seems that researchers in general have since concluded that there is no effect.
–Another study by Soylu published in 2018 also revealed that there was no relationship between drinking caffeine (in tea or coffee, 1-5 cups a day) and infertility.
–The study done by Lyngso showed that coffee DID reveal an increased risk of miscarriage — the more caffeine, the higher the risk. (That has been confirmed by other studies as well — see Table 2 from Lyngso.)
—Ricci found that the studies done on male factors and infertility are inconclusive.
*Click here to return to the list of TTC Tips: Fact or Fiction?
