Does caffeine impact fertility and pregnancy?

The short answer is less than 200mg caffeine is safe for low risk pregnancies or less than 100mg for high risk women. 

• In 1997 a study found that caffeine consumption >500mg/day increased the time to took to get pregnant by 11%
• In 1998 the research said that Caffeine alone did not impact getting pregnant but it enhanced the negative effect of alcohol on conception probability
• In 2011 it was found that unknown cause of miscarriage is significantly higher in women who drank caffeine preconception, or during first trimester. Miscarriages associated with caffeine are commonly of normal karyotype (no genetic abnormalities causing miscarriage) and risk increased at as low as 100 mg of caffeine per day
• In 2018 research suggested huge biases in the previous coffee and miscarriage research
• In 2019 a study found Caffeine increases miscarriage risk
• In 2020 Coffee/caffeine intake is associated with bleeding in early pregnancy

Bottom line  – Does Caffeine Impact Fertility and Pregnancy?

• The average woman who is trying to get pregnant should aim for <200mg/day. Remember black tea and chocolate will also contain caffeine so keep this in mind if you love coffee!
• If miscarriage risk is increased cut that in half and aim for <100mg of caffeine per day

You’re probably wondering what 100-200mg of caffeine looks like. Here is a recent Instagram post I did about caffeine content of two of the most popular Canadian coffee shops: